You Saved Me
by hollowindex
Summary: Spock and Uhura meet as young adults and notice the similarities they have in their lives. The two wind up influencing each other throughout their lives more than they would think.
1. Chapter 1

-AN-

Hello everyone! I am new to the world of FF and this is my first attempt at writing it! This is going to be a sort of Nyota/Spock prequel that will probably lead into the first 2009 movie. I love this couple (and everything star trek of course) and hopefully you'll like where this story goes. All characters do not belong to me and I hope I am getting all of my facts right! (This is a short intro chapter hope it's not god awful)

**-Spock-**

"Aren't you two glad that I managed to persuade Star Fleet into having this get together in Kenya? It was pure luck that we get to stay in a climate more suited to your tastes." my mother says this to my father and I in a most informal fashion. Her hand gives father a soft slap on the knee. When mother visits Terra she applies more of her human speech patterns than usual. I gaze out the window and assume that we have crossed over the prime meridian and are finally in the South Atlantic ocean. Currently my family and two other Vulcan attendees are in a federation shuttle craft headed from San Francisco to Kenya. The flight is long and there is very little to do besides idly converse. "The Kenya branch of Star Fleet was the only building large enough to house a conference of this size and matter." Father coldly retorted this back to her. "Oh Sarek! I know that you were at least a tad bit pleased that I was able to steer the events coordinator of this conference towards the Kenya branch. The only other option was the London branch and I am sure you do not wish to be there during the fall season."

"The climate of Kenya is preferable."

She laughed with delight and smiled widely at father. This was the closest to a thank you that she was going to receive from him. Banter like this continued between my parents for 1.4 hours until the conversation was quite suddenly directed at me. "Spock…Spock dear? How have your studies been going? I am so sorry that I left your PADD at home. I could have sworn I brought it with me. Well at least you get to have a break for a few days." My father interjected immediately after she was finished speaking, "Spock is on a strict academic regimen. He is far more advanced than any other his age. A short intervention will not detour him on his path to the Vulcan Science Academy." My mother stared at me with a look of expectance. Since my father has accurately answered my mother's question I sit in silence to show that his reasoning is sound. After a few moments my mother's face loses its calm, "Sarek the boy is 19. I believe he can answer for himself."

"Mother what father has said is accurate. I did not wish to reiterate his statement since it was not logical to do so." She folds her arms and leans back in her chair. "Alright Spock. As long as what your father is saying is actually how you really feel." I nod in affirmative; however her question was lost upon me. Even I was not sure how I truly felt about the matter.

**-Uhura-**

"Child your hair is a mess! What did the maid do? Come over here and let me fix it for you. We can't look messy at this event or your father will never do us any favors again!" My mother grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me down the hall towards her bathroom. "Mom, I did my hair myself. I am 15 now. I think I am perfectly capable of doing it." "Oh honey I don't doubt that for a minute. But right now we have to do things exactly as your father wants them." I huffed and sat down in her soft velvet chair that was seated in front of a large mirror. Mother began to brush out all the curls I had put in my hair and began harshly pinning all of it up. After a few moments my once voluminous hair was now neatly pleated against my scalp in a very proper manner. "See now that's what your father would like! Now quickly go and get dressed, we only have twenty minutes until the conference begins."

I walked through the halls of my large home and made my way to my room. To my chagrin there already was a traditional Kenyan outfit laid out for me on my bed. I assumed that father had handpicked the garb. I closed my eyes and recited the first 20 numbers of pi to calm myself. _Having your clothes picked out is a small price to pay for what you are about to attend. _"You are so lucky." I whispered to myself under my breath as I changed outfits.

"Nyota are you ready? The driver is here! We have to go!" Mother screamed this from the bottom of the staircase. "I am on my way! Get in and I will meet you in the car" I yelled back. Flying down the stairs I clumsily put on my shoes and rocket myself into the car. Mother laughs in amusement at my excitement while father merely rolls his eyes.

"Are you really that excited to see a bunch of worthless aliens Nyota?" my father spat at me. I thanked my slow dressing skills that mother was seated next to father instead of myself. "I think it will be quite interesting to see all the different species gather in one place actually."

I wasn't looking but I knew that father had just raised a sarcastic eye brow to my reply. "Well the only reason that I am going is to try and crack a deal with those blue faced Andorians. I was going to deny my invitation to be a representative of Kenya at this United Federation of Planets bullshit, but your mother insisted that I go just to meet them."

I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh. Mother was really pretty clever. Since the Uhura family has been in the gemstone retail business for more than a century his interest in the Andorians was quite reasonable. Andorains were known for their stunning jewelry and if he could export his goods onto their planet there would be an undeniable profit. However while most of the planet would have already known this, there was no way that father would have thought of such a deal unless the idea was planted in him. Maybe if he wasn't such a bigot he could expand his business even further.

"Oh Nyota! Look at how splendid the Star Fleet convention center looks all lit up like that. Funny to think that it looks so plain during the daytime."

Father says nothing in response. I ignored his blatant rudeness and gazed out of his window. The enormous convention hall that was normally a pristine white was now bathed in a rainbow of lights. My eyes grew wide in anticipation. The convention center really did look nice now, but I've always thought that Star Fleet looked beautiful during the day as well. "It's lovely." I say to her and smile. She smiles back and grabs my hand to give it a good squeeze.

"Mr. Alhamsi, Lady M'umba we have arrived at the destination." the driver announces loudly as he pulls up to the curb of the convention hall.

I take a deep breath and take my first satisfying step on Star Fleet ground. "It's showtime."


	2. Chapter 2

-AN-

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and advice! It really means a lot to me! Well anyways here is the next chapter. It is a little cliff hanger-y and I do apologize for that. However since it is the summer time I should be able to keep updating regularly. J

Also I'm going to be putting telepathic speech in bold italic and alien language in italic. We will just have to see how this works. Hopefully smoothly…lol

Enjoy!

**-Spock-**

The Star Fleet convention center is covered in a broad spectrum of colored lights. As the center is usually white I assume that this was done to signify the diversity of the United Federation of Planets.

Mother steps out of the shuttlecraft first with the assistance of one of the attendees. "Well we have finally made it boys! Isn't it nice to be able to move around?" She turns around and waits for an answer from my father and I. We both give her a quick nod before disembarking from the craft.

"Amanda I will have to depart from you both now as I am going to be a key speaker in a diplomatic panel this evening. I trust that you will be capable of navigating the convention on your own."

"Yes, yes Sarek we will both be fine. Maybe Spock and I can browse the merchant alley to do a bit of shopping before the main lecture in the dining hall." Mother links arms with me and smiles. Her public displays of affection have always been somewhat unnerving.

"You have my Federation credit card so that is a viable option. I will meet you both at the shuttlecraft approximately 13 minutes after the lecture has ended." With that he leaves.

"Well I guess it is just going to be me and you tonight Spock. Let's make the best of this vacation."

I nod and allow her to lead me into the convention hall. As soon as we enter I am bombarded by an array of sounds. Oftentimes advanced auditory senses are a disadvantage. The hall was filled with a plethora of federation species. Although most of them consisted of the founding species (Human, Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarites) there were a number of Coridans, Rigelians and Denobulans present as well. To witness so many species in one peaceful space was a true marvel. Unsurprisingly 98% of the federation's ambassadors approached my mother and conversed with her in their native tongue. Throughout the entire merchant alley she was stopped and given gifts of all kinds. I do not believe she had to pay for anything that she expressed even a mild interest in. Although being the Vulcan ambassador's wife gave her status, it was her charm and xenolinguistic skills that made her so popular at these events.

"Do these high levels of social interaction ever tire you mother?"

We were seated in the middle of the merchant alley taking a small break from all of the festivities. A vendor had gifted us with a pot of Orion tea and had insisted that we sit down and sample it. My mother sipped the tea thoughtfully before answering.

"I actually never do Spock. These sorts of events are part of why being married to your father is so entertaining."

I look at her incredulously and take a sip of my tea.

"Now don't look at me like that!" she says teasingly, "You will most likely never find these social events as pleasing as I do. But I do know that one day you will find someone whose company you will never grow tired of."

"I find that to be highly improbable."

Before she could respond an intercom sounded to announce that the main lecture would be occurring in an hour and a half. After the announcement mother rapidly consumed the rest of her tea and motioned for me to do the same.

"We better hurry to that lecture. I know there will be plenty of people in the dining hall who will want to converse with us. If we don't get there early it will be impossible for us to find our seats in time. Your father would be livid if we were late."

Together we gathered up her gifts, returned the teapot to the Orion vendor and began to walk over to the dining hall located due north of our current location. I found myself wishing that my mother and I would never arrive at the dining hall. The endless string of pleasantries I had to perform were becoming tedious. Unfortunately upon arrival my mother's prediction became accurate. As soon as we stepped onto the dining hall floor we were assaulted by ambassador's who were all vying for her attention. After 15.4 minutes of exchanging pleasantries I felt my mother tug on my consciousness through our mental link.

**_"Spock I can see that this is becoming quite the burden for you."_**

She was speaking to me telepathically while carrying on her vocal conversations as well. I sent her waves of agreement over the link.

**_"Alright I have found an alternative that may be significantly easier for you."_**

What did she mean?

**_"See that human girl sitting at the table by herself to the left of us? Take a break and go talk to her."_**

Why her?

**_"She's the only person I've seen here that is remotely close to you in age. Plus talking to a stranger is a good way to build up your social skills. Maybe. Anyways talking to her beats talking to all of these people now doesn't it? You can just meet me at our table before the lecture starts"_**

I considered my options for 3.4 seconds before agreeing to her proposition.

After disengaging myself from the link I turn to the crowd and excused myself. Thankfully no one notices my announcement and I am able to leave unnoticed. Mother waves at me before I leave to go attempt my first self-engaged social interaction.

-Uhura-

My father had permitted me 45 unsupervised minutes in the merchant's alley after arriving at the convention. I had asked to go to the educational cultural center earlier, but he had refused saying that it was a waste of time to learn about inferior species. However he did enjoy the world of business so going to the merchant's alley was inevitable.

"Nyota, I will be going to talk to some of the Andorian jewelers here. Honestly I really don't think I can handle more than 45 minutes in this retched place." He looked around in disgust at the life forms around him before pulling something out of his pocket. "Here is my credit card. Do not lose it. Meet your mother and I in front of the building at exactly 7:45 no later, understand?"

"Yes father." I replied stoically and accepted the card from his hand.

"See you in a bit my star! Have fun." Mother gave me a quick hug before they took off.

I was completely alone now in a sea of wondrous people. If it didn't look so childish I would be spinning around and jumping for joy. This was the type of world I wanted to be in. It was all so overwhelming that I couldn't decide where to go to first. To get a scope of the place I speed walked around the outside perimeter of the alley. It appeared that it had been organized based on species. Since my Orion is the strongest I decided to start at an Orion tea shop. I approach the stand and introduce myself in High Kolari. The elderly green shopkeeper looked taken aback at first but then welcomed me with a smile.

_"I have met a seldom few humans who can speak High Kolari. Your pronunciation is quite marvelous. Now what would you like my dear?"_

_"I would like to sample whichever one you most enjoy. I have no knowledge of Orion tea sadly."_ I responded in kind.

_"Ah I see, then let me pick you out one that I particularly enjoy."_

While he brewed the tea I felt myself bubble up with pride. Being able to keep up a conversation in full High Kolari was quite a step for me. Aside from this instance, I have never practiced my language skills with an actual native. Or anyone really for that matter. My father had forbid me from learning foreign languages that were not Terran. If it weren't for my mother sneaking me alien language books and recordings I would never have been able to learn.

_"Here you are miss. Drink it while it's hot to get the full effect."_ He said as he handed me a cup.

_"Thank you so much."_ I handed him my card but he refused it.

_"For one who speaks so well this one is on the house." _

I smiled and thanked him again. As I walked away towards another set of vendors I noticed a strange pair in a seating area drinking tea together. A human woman and a Vulcan. Even though I did not know much about Vulcans outside of their language, I knew that they generally did not socialize with humans outside of diplomatic sessions. Seeing the two gave me a bit of hope for human-alien relationships. I finally took a sip of my hot tea. It was soothing and fizzy at the same time. Strange but wonderful.

The rest of my time in the merchant alley was spent going from vendor to vendor with the hopes of improving my language skills. Each and every vendor accepted me warmly after I spoke to them in their native tongue. A few of them even gave me pointers on pronunciation, which I appreciated and desperately needed. I flew around the area conversing and learning to my heart's content. After a particularly long conversation with a Tellarite woman about how to properly hold an argument, I decided that it was probably time to meet up with my parents. I glanced down at my watch and grimaced. It was now 8:20. My feet began to run before I could even process the movement. Hopefully the consequences for being late were not going to be too severe.

"Nyota dear I am so sorry about this. I knew your father was strict about schedules but I didn't think he would be this mad. Maybe if you had a communicator on you it wouldn't have been so bad. He just worries so much sometimes."

My mother and I were sitting at our designated table in the dining hall. Since father wasn't a diplomat or a member of Star Fleet, our table was rather far back and off to the side of the main stage.

I bit my lip and rested my face in my hands. "I know mother… I just completely lost track of time. It really was my fault."

As soon as I had found my parents I was assaulted by a long string of aggressive scolding. At least father was hissing to me quietly in Swahili to make the situation less embarrassing. He had made it quite clear to me that for the rest of the night I would be confined to the table. So far my mother had managed to stay with me at the table, but from the looks of it my father had other plans.

"M'umba come with me. It appears that some of my colleagues were able to attend and would like to see you." He said all this without even a glance at me. He then held out his hand and waited for my mother to take it. She did not object and took it immediately. As she walked away she turned her head and mouthed the words 'I'm so sorry' at me. I forced a smile back at her and then put my head down on the table. This time I was alone as well, but in more of a self-contained bubble than a sea. I tried reciting pi to distract myself, but it did not ease my frustration. After some 20 odd minutes a cold monotonous voice broke my isolation.

"Excuse me. Would you permit me to converse with you for an indefinite amount of time?"

What the hell? I look up from the table only to find myself staring straight at the young Vulcan I had seen earlier at the merchant alley.

"Sure! There is currently no one seated at this table so you can sit wherever you want."

He nods and takes the seat one over to the right of me. How funny that he doesn't want to sit directly next to me. I cover a broad smile with my hands and marvel at my luck. Now father said that I wasn't allowed to leave the table, but he never said anything about anyone joining me.


	3. Chapter 3

**-AN-**

Woo! Well here is chapter 3! I am so glad that you all enjoyed chapter 2. This story will be going kind of slow at first so I apologize for that. But it will pick up I promise!

**-Spock-**

The first thing I noticed about the Terran girl was her eyes. They were the color of amber and carried a certain unshakable clarity that made it feel as if she were looking straight through me. The feeling was disconcerting. Her skin was an even mocha color that appeared quite alien in comparison to my own pale skin. Her face was 89% symmetrical, but her imperfections did not detract from her overall aesthetics. She was perhaps the most striking person I had ever met and I felt the need to look away from her for fear of being overwhelmed.

"Hey! Excuse me? Are you alright? Did you want to talk or are you just going to keep staring at me blankly?" The girl had leaned over towards me and was apparently attempting to imitate my stare.

I had been caught. According to my other interactions with humans I had nearly 1.8 seconds to react. This girl was clearly my junior; yet why was I so intimidated by her?

"What is your name?" I said quickly. If my calculations were correct her suspicions should dissipate now.

Her eyes narrowed and she sat back in her chair. I watched her hoping for a response, but instead I saw all emotion drain from her face. She then held up the Vulcan Salute to me.

_"Live long and prosper."_

Confused I saluted and replied in kind. _"Peace and long life."_

I managed to hide my shock that she spoke Vulcan. Aside from my mother I had never heard it spoken so fluently. Before I could question her further the girl continued the conversation.

"I have always wanted to say that! And now I get to say it to a real live Vulcan? Unreal."

She was talking to herself so I did not want to interrupt her. After her standard monologue was done she turned to me and introduced herself in Vulcan. Her name was Uhura, she is 15 and has lived in Kenya here since birth.

_"Uhura? Is that your full name?"_ I inquired becoming slightly confused.

_"Yes. Just Uhura."_ She replied back curtly.

_"I was not aware that some humans only have one given name."_

She stared at me slack jawed. Did I say something to offend?

_"It was a joke!"_ She stifled a laugh, _"My first name is Nyota. In Swahili it means star. But you can just call me Uhura."_

Although she was not a gaseous ball of energy, the name Nyota was fitting for her.

_"I fail to see how concealing one's first name constitutes as a joke, but it is a pleasure to be of your acquaintance Uhura. My name is S'chn T'gai Spock. You may address me as Spock."_

_"Nice to meet you Spock. So what has brought you to this diplomatic convention to the stars?"_ She inched forward in her chain and leaned 35 degrees closer to me. I adjusted my seating position over by 2 inches to account for her movement. Her close proximity made me significantly more uncomfortable than usual human contact.

_"My father is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. He was invited here to be a keynote speaker for one of the panels."_

Uhura's eyes lit up as I spoke of my father. I felt a slight prick of some foreign emotion. Strange. It was unimportant so I let it fade away quickly.

_"Wow. So you are an ambassador's son! That must be so interesting. Travelling all over the galaxy and meeting new people. My father is a jeweler and a strict one at that! I am lucky to just get out of the house."_

_"My father's job does have a stimulating effect on my life. Because of his career I have had the opportunity to learn 9 federation languages."_

As soon as I finished my sentence Uhura clapped her hands together and then slammed them onto the tabletop.

_"Spock! That is exactly what I want to do! I want to explore the universe and speak to all sorts of species and learn about their world. You have my dream in the palm of your hands!"_ She says all of this to me very rapidly and loudly.

My senses were shocked. I had not prepared for this level of social interaction, a simple "Do I?" was all I could manage under her pressure.

_"Yes you do. You are so lucky Spock. All I have is my limited language resources and an extensive knowledge of mathematics. You have the entire universe."_ She rested her head in her hands and appeared to be brooding.

How would my mother fix this situation? This girl expressed her emotions in such a flurry that I was completely unsure of how to respond. I glanced over at Uhura. She was not currently looking at me. I decided to send my mother a quick telepathic distress message.

**_"Mother I need your assistance. I have upset the human female. How do I proceed?"_**

A shot of reassurance was sent over to me.

**_"My goodness Spock, you have only been conversing with her for 15 minutes. Just analyze what she has been saying and I am sure you will find the correct response."_**

He link fizzled out and I was on my own again. I reflected on our conversation and finally arrived at a logical solution.

_"How extensive is your knowledge of mathematics Uhura?"_

She replied without looking at me. _"Fairly extensive."_

I nodded and retrieved a napkin and pen that had been left on the table. I quickly formulated my own version of an enjoyable Terran game called Sudoku. I placed the napkin and pen in front of her. She eyed me warily and then picked up the pen and solved the puzzle in 78 seconds. She flipped the napkin over and formulated her own Sudoku square for me to solve. I completed the square and transitioned into a full blown physics equation. She answered it easily and handed me another equation. The pattern kept repeating itself with increasing difficulty. After the 23rd equation I stole a glance at her, she had an infinitesimal smile on her face while she solved the problem. A wave of relief spread over me. This was by far the most successful social interaction I had ever experienced.

**-Uhura-**

Every time I tried to get closer to him he would inch away ever so slightly. I was pretty sure he thought he was being inconspicuous, but it was really quite the opposite. It was comical to see him shy away from me with even the smallest of movements. However talking to someone while being an entire chairs length away was begging to feel awkward. I noticed that his guard seemed to drop when he was performing a math problem. After I had finished the problem he had given me I grabbed a new napkin and wrote down a problem that I knew would not work out. I passed him the napkin and he began to work on it. A few moments later his left eyebrow rose to signify who knows what emotion.

_"Uhura I do not believe that this equation can be solved. Perhaps you_-" He stopped talking and his body stiffened as soon as he had looked over to me. In the time it took him to realize that the problem was wrong, I had quietly scooted over to the chair next to him.

_"Perhaps I made a mistake?"_ I said with a mischievous grin.

He put the pen down and sat back as far as he could in his seat. Spock looked slightly conflicted. It took him a few seconds to recompose, but he did not let the conversation lag for long.

"You are quite proficient in math for someone your age. May I ask why?" he asked in standard this time

Thank god. My Vulcan vocabulary was running thin. "My father wants me to attend the Institute for Advanced Mathematics in New Jersey after I graduate from high school. He wants me to become our company's head accountant and work for him, just like my brother and sister do. Ever since I was small I've had private math tutors and had to attend extracurricular math courses." I waved my hands with fake excitement.

He stared back at me vacantly. Maybe sarcasm was a bit too much for this Vulcan to handle.

"It appears that you are not enthused by your current situation. Are you not able to object to it?"

Ah, he did get it! "I don't think I could ever object to it. My path has been chosen for me even before I was born." I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "Besides even if I could say no I don't think I have the strength to defy my father."

Wow. I have told this virtual stranger more about my life than anyone else save for my mother. I even told him my first name! Something about him just made me feel like he would understand me and my situation. Spock leaned forward a bit and looked at me dead on. For the first time I suddenly felt very aware of him. How alien he was from me. Not just his pointy ears, but all elements of him seemed foreign to me. His eyes especially were so strong and dark that I felt like I was about to be swallowed up by them.

"I too face a similar conundrum in my life Uhura. My father has chosen my path for me as well. I have followed his will all my life and am on track to being accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy. I have never objected to it because I am not sure what I would do if given the chance to live independently."

"It's a rare thing to meet a Vulcan who is unsure of themselves." I responded astonished.

"Half Vulcan." He said in response.

"Wow I didn't know that there were any half Vulcans. I assume that your mother is human?"

"You are correct in this assumption. I am the only hybrid of my species." He paused and thought a moment, "Uhura what would be your ultimate goal if you were not an accountant?"

"I would join Star Fleet and become a communications officer. Language is my passion and I would love to help people with my knowledge of it."

He nodded slowly and stated, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or one."

I tilted my head to the side quizzically. "What do you mean by that Spock?"

"Your aspirations and talents would undoubtedly be a benefit to Star Fleet. By becoming a member of Star Fleet, the range of those you could positively impact will grow exponentially. This is a stark contrast to the singular benefit of becoming an accountant for your father."

What he had just said was what I told myself every day after learning of Star Fleet's communication program. There was no doubt in my mind that although we were both very different physically, our shared conflictions enabled us to perfectly understand one another. Specie inferiority be damned. I stood up and grabbed Spock's hands.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I really needed to hear that from someone other than myself." I was on the verge of tears. Everything felt so clear after a simple observation made by an impartial Vulcan.

Spock shot up in his seat and wrenched his hands out of mine. A look of bewilderment was sprawled on his face. Of course, I had forgotten that Vulcans held a strong aversion to touch.

"I am so sorry for touching you Spock!"

He averted eye contact with me and began to scan the crowd desperately. "It is fine. Now I must be going since the main lecture will commence in 6.5 minutes. I appreciate the time you have given me."

And with that he was gone. I sat for a moment and closed my eyes to help me absorb the past hour. All of my experiences today had solidified my resolve to join Star Fleet. A few moments later my parents arrived at the table. My father was still refusing to look at me. Mother sat down next to me and recounted the conversations father had with the Andorian jewelers until a large bell chimed. Just as Spock had said the lecture did start in 6 minutes. Vulcan's must have an amazing internal clock.

As the first key speaker appeared on stage my mother leaned over to me and whispered, "So are you having a good time Nyota?"

"Yes, I am so glad that you took me." I grabbed mother's hand and squeezed it gently.

Today was the first day of my life that was lived solely for me. Today marks the day that I took destiny into my own hands in order to benefit the greater good and me as well. This day was perfect all because of a socially awkward Vulcan telling me that my dreams weren't wrong. I couldn't even focus on the lecture taking place right in front of me because one phrase kept racing through my mind.

"Thank you." I said as quietly as I could so that maybe, just maybe, that Vulcan boy could hear me from wherever he was.


	4. Chapter 4

**-AN-**

Well another chapter down! I'm so happy that you all liked the 3rd chapter so much. It was so fun to write. This one is kind of angsty with a little language so readers beware! Hope you like it. The next chapter will be fun and lighter I swear!

-10 Years later-

**-Spock-**

The year was 2255, and ten years later I could still feel her presence. After a particularly long night of grading student papers, I had decided to meditate in my quarters before retiring for bed. Meditation was my preferred method of detoxing the stress of the day before allowing myself to sleep. However, approximately 2.2 hours into my meditation I was violently assaulted by a wave of foreign emotions. The sudden shock knocked the air out of my chest cavity. Clutching at my chest I attempted to dull the emotions being sent to me, but it was to little avail. My breathing had evened but the sensations kept pouring into me uncontrollably. This was the first time I had regretted keeping the bond that had formed between Nyota Uhura and I ten years prior.

Often times humans who I have interacted with forget common courtesy and have touched me without permission. This results in a small bond between myself and the person who has laid hands upon me. The bond is not strong enough to make telepathy possible, but I do feel the full spectrum of their emotions. Since this could be a potential hazard to my logical mind, I have always severed any accidental bonds that have formed immediately. However on the day Nyota Uhura touched me I did not feel repulsed by her contact. I did not feel that her emotions were obstructing my logic. I was feeling a wide range of emotions which both frightened and intrigued me. Before her hands left mine a single telepathic message was sent over to me, "Thank you". Her voice resonated in my mind like the chime of a bell. I enjoyed the sensation as it was unlike any other telepathic communication I had ever received. After leaving her company I decided to make a mental pro and con chart to keep this small bond alive in my mind. On the pro side, exposure to Uhura's emotions could benefit my understanding of the human mind. On the con side, exposure to her emotions may lead to illogical thoughts or decisions and may come to be a distraction.

I evaluated my mental chart 4 times and every time the cons would outweigh the pros significantly. Surprisingly, even with all of this data I decided to keep the bond alive. Since the United Federation of Planets Convention, I have been able to experience Uhura's emotions on a daily basis. I am able to keep the connection in control and can mute it if need be. The bond is not strong enough for her to communicate with me nor I with her which helps to avoid unnecessary involvement with one another's lives. I have been able to successfully observe her emotions without knowing what stimulus has caused them so her life could be kept private. So far I have learned to correctly identify over 205 human emotions with the assistance of Nyota Uhura. At the moment however, I was unable to accurately define her current emotional state.

Pain. Sorrow. Disappointment. Fulfillment. Pride. Disgust. Rage.

The feelings kept changing and I was unable to isolate one for any amount of time. The outbreak continued for 35 minutes. Each time I thought the end was near her emotions would well up again and overflow into me. This had to end. Although her emotions were injuring me, our bond was quite weak. I suspect the harm being inflicted upon herself by these emotions were far more intense than what I was feeling.

I had two options:

Break the bond

Attempt to strengthen the bond and ease her pain temporarily

I had no desire to lose the bond that I had carefully observed for so many years. This meant that option two was preferable. I adjusted myself on the floor into a meditative pose. My mind loosened and probed for the bond between us. Since the bond was highly active, it was simple to find. I latched onto it and began strengthening the link. If this did not work I would have 6 minutes until I would be forced to leave her mind and permanently break the bond. As soon as the bond was strengthened to the highest level possible, I began to attempt telepathic communication. I sent over waves of comfort that I had learned from Uhura herself 8 years ago. Her pain began to ebb. My breathing became fully functional. After 4 minutes the emotions were nearly eradicated from her mind. To finalize our communication I decided to speak just one word to help ease her mind.

**_"Sleep"_**

With that utterance her pain was lifted. I assumed she had taken my suggestion and gone to sleep. Now that that was settled it was my turn to rest. As soon as entered my bed, weariness started to overtake me. Opening the bond so quickly had drained my energy. I hope to never feel those emotions again. Strangely, I also hope Uhura never feels those emotions again. To keep myself from harm the ultimate precautionary step would be to break the bond completely; but I did not wish to lose my only tie to a human besides my mother. This small well of emotion that Nyota Uhura provided me was one of my most precious belongings. I have no intention of ever losing it.

**-Uhura-**

The year was 2255 and I was just about to receive my diploma from the Institute of Advanced Mathematics. I walked up to the podium to accept the single sheet of paper that certified that I had graduated with a master's degree in mathematics and a minor in computer engineering. After four long years I was done. After the graduation ceremony ended my family came to congratulate me.

My mother gave me a deathly tight hug. "My star I am so proud of you. This was not an easy task graduating with honors from such a prestigious institute."

"Thank you. It was a ton of work, but nothing I couldn't handle." Fearing for my life, I broke away from her hug and turned to look at my father and two older siblings.

My sister Makena had managed to escape from her job and home duties to attend my graduation. My brother Kamau had done the same. Father had closed down all company business for the day just so he could see me. I felt very touched that they had taken the time to see my accomplishments. It almost made me regret that I had chosen today to make an important announcement.

"Nyota since you have gone through college without taking a summer quarter off I will allow you to take this summer off before officially joining the company." My father joyfully said this to me while we all made our way to the family's privately owned shuttlecraft.

My stomach dropped and I did not respond to his comment. Instead I decided to change the subject. "Father have you sent anyone to retrieve my things from my dorm?"

"Yes yes the drivers have already taken care of it. Now get move on so we can get home soon." He hurried us into the craft and we awaited clearance for takeoff.

My family had taken a seat while I remained standing. I inhaled deeply and stared at the people before me. They were my family and they would hopefully accept me no matter what decisions I made.

"What are you staring at us for Nyota?" Kamau said in a jovial manner.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." I mumbled under my breath.

"What?" My father responded indifferently.

"I said the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, father." This time I said the words with pride. This idea that a stranger had taught me years ago had become the mantra for my life. It gave me strength when I needed it, and boy did I need it now.

"Nyota, what exactly is that supposed to mean?" father spat angrily. His expression grew intense. The air in the craft began to get heavy.

I paused and mustered up all of my courage.

"I am not going to work for you father. I am going to join Star Fleet."

My father stood up enraged and flung his arms out, "What the hell do you mean Nyota?"

"It means that I am finally going to follow my dreams instead of always following your orders. I am going to go where the word needs me most, Star Fleet."

"Well what exactly are you going to do there? You don't have any skills that they need. I've raised you to be exactly what I want nothing else."

"It's true that I have followed your orders all my life. I graduated from the high school of your choice with honors. I graduated from the college of your choice with honors. I have only participated in extracurricular activities that have been hand-picked by you. However while I've been fulfilling your wishes I have been working to make mine come true as well. Everyday I've been learning alien languages; every day since I was 7." I paused to take a deep breath. The room was silent. "I'm going to be a communications officer father. I have all the skills needed to do it." I felt so triumphant saying that. My chest felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of it.

My father's lips formed a thin line. "Now who the hell started planting these ideas in your head? Huh? Who the fuck was it!?" He was screaming at this point.

Just as he was about to boil over one of our drivers entered the shuttle craft.

"Sir the craft is ready for take-"

My father slammed his fist into the wall of the craft.

"Keep it grounded until I tell you to! Now get the hell out of here." He violently ordered the driver. As soon as the driver exited the craft father's eyes began to shift around to each of us. He stared at me hoping to see signs of who had provided me with the resources to learn. My siblings all averted their eyes and stared at the floor. My mother glared back at him.

"Husband stop this foolishness right now." She stood up and put a shoulder around him.

"Ah, I see. It was you wasn't it?" Father grabbed my mother and raised his hand to strike her across the face.

My body reacted and I threw myself on top of my father to prevent him from assaulting mother. Mother fell to the floor. Using my left arm, I propped myself back up again and helped mother to her feet. I watched as father picked himself up off the ground. He straightened out his clothes and gave me a look that I had never seen before. I stared back. My father raised his hand and slapped me straight across the face. I tasted blood in my mouth, but did not avert my gaze. My siblings continued to do nothing.

"Get out." He breathed and pointed to the shuttle craft door. "You are no longer my daughter. I do not wish to see or speak to you ever again."

"Dear you don't really mean that!" Mother cried and grabbed onto my father.

"Get off of me M'umba. I will deal with you later." He shook her off and glowered at me, "Now out. Gather your things and go."

I glanced at my broken family one last time before calmly leaving the craft. No one was looking at me besides my father.

"You know, when I was in college I dated a Betazoid." With that I took my leave. As the doors closed behind me I could hear my father roar in anger. Thankfully the drivers had overheard the conversation and had already removed my luggage. I was glad I didn't own a lot since I would now have to carry it all.

A few blocks down from the college there was a cheap motel I could stay at. I was extemely thankful that I had taken a part time job at the school the previous year. Washing beakers and measuring chemicals as a lab assistant didn't seem quite so useless now. I paid for my room and started the arduous task of lugging my 2 enormous suitcases up the stairs. The Rigelian motel owner graciously carried one of my suitcases up to my room on the second floor for me. I thanked him for his kindness and he was on his way. I opened my hotel room and carried my belongings into my room. Once I was situated I decided to sit down on my bed. For a moment I sat in silence staring at the pale wall. I was alone. For the first time in my life I was truly alone. Clutching at my feet I curled up into a ball at the foot of my bed. Tears began to well up in my eyes. The stony mask I had managed to keep in front of my family was breaking.

"Why? I didn't think it would really go like this…" I whispered to myself. Trying to keep myself together was proving futile. Every time I took a breath, the realization that I was now alone in the world flooded into my mind. The emotions became too strong and I was no longer able to hold them back. Sobs escaped from my mouth as I let my emotions loose. The tears ran down my face and stung at my eyes. My chest filled with an dense blackness. Breathing became nearly impossible. I felt like I was going to die.

Why had my family abandoned me like that? Why were my dreams judged so harshly? How come my siblings had done absolutely nothing to stop my father from raising a hand against mother? Or even me for that matter?

"Help…" I whimpered into my hands. "I need help… Somebody please."

My pleas for help were futile and I knew it. Throughout my college career I had only made a handful of friends. They had either gone back home or I wasn't close enough to them to ask for emotional assistance. My extended family wasn't an option either. I'm sure they would blindly follow my father's opinions and shun me from their lives as well. I swallowed after a particularly long sobbing fit and allowed myself to feel some pride in what I had accomplished. I was now on my way towards my dream at Star Fleet. For a moment I was able to stop all thoughts and smile. The sentiment did not last long though. An image of my mother's face as I left the shuttlecraft flashed before my eyes. My negative feeling sprung back and I was bawling once more.

"Please… mother… Help." My eyes were so blurry that I could barely see. Staring blindly at the door was not going to make her magically appear in front of me.

After more than half an hour my body had run out of tears. I could feel the makeup run down my face as I lay curled up on the bed. My tears had now been replaced with a strong feeling of anger and abandonment. It made me feel empty. I rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling. Although I wasn't sobbing anymore I still felt the black weight in my chest. It was expanding like a poison through my body.

Deeper. Deeper. Deeper.

Just as the blackness began to creep deeper into me, I sensed a small ray of light enter my mind. The warmth from it resonated throughout my body and made me feel lighter. It felt familiar and foreign at the same time. It was the most soothing experience I had ever felt. The warmth seeped into my muscles and down into my nervous system. My muscles unclenched themselves and I was now splayed out comfortably on the bed. The negative thoughts drained out of me, leaving only the positive. I had already received my acceptance letter from Star Fleet. I had enough money to buy a ticket to San Francisco. Finally I was able to live my life the way I had wanted to. I smiled and slowly closed my swollen eyes. A small voice inside my head whispered something, but I couldn't understand it. The voice was cool and soothing though. I savored the sound and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

-AN-

Sorry for the delay! This time I've got two chapters for you all so hopefully that will make up for it! Thanks for all the encouraging reviews too they make my day

-Spock-

"So Spock, how'd you sleep? You look like an old worn out dog!"

I was in the academy dining hall consuming lunch between classes. Captain Pike had found me at the staff table and was now sitting directly across from me. He bit into the red apple he had brought with him and gave me a look of what I assumed to be expectancy.

"My sleep was satisfactory Captain." I did manage to slumber long enough to perform at peak efficiency. My altercation with Uhura's bond did not need to be mentioned.

Captain Pike began to masticate his apple slowly in an act of sarcasm. "I see… Well how're your classes going? Today is the last day of the semester so I assume that you had a lot of final paper grading to do yesterday."

"The cadets this year performed admirably. You are correct, I did spend the vast majority of my day yesterday grading final papers. They were all satisfactory."

"Only satisfactory? No exceptional students?" Captain Pike raised his eyebrows and put his apple down.

"No."

"Dammit Spock you are harsh. Well maybe this week off in between semesters will soften you up a bit." He leaned over the table and slapped my shoulder.

My eyes held the point of contact, "As I am not a vegetable or any other quickly decomposing matter I highly doubt that Captain."

The captain sighed deeply and held eye contact with me. "Ah, I knew you would Spock. Well take it easy, okay? Maybe go get a massage or something."

"I would find foreign touch to be most unpleasant Captain. Thankfully I will not be idle this week. Star Fleet command has assigned me the duty of reading through incoming cadet profiles and sorting them into the proper fields."

"Can't a computer just do that Spock?"

"Generally yes, but in this case no. Aside from sorting I will also be looking for cadets of exceptional skill to test out my Kobayashi Maru program."

The captain's head tilted to the side; an act of silent human inquiry.

"The Kobayashi Maru program is a simulator I am programming that will test a cadets merit under a no win situation."

"Oh that's right. You told me about that a while ago." He thrummed his fingers on the dining table apparently in thought. "Now why on earth would you want to make a program like that? Teaching people hopelessness before they even graduate?"

"Since the incident involving acting Captain George Kirk, Star Fleet has been searching for a way to determine if upcoming command cadets have his leadership qualities. Exposing them to a hopeless situation is a byproduct of this test, but a necessary one."

Captain Pike nodded "Well now that you say it like that I will have to agree. George Kirk was a fine man; I've even done a dissertation on him. That program sounds like it will be interesting. I know it's important to you and all, but please try to relax and god forbid maybe have some fun. I sure as hell don't get to. I have to go out to the shipyards in Idaho and debrief a group of new recruits before they get to the academy. Joy."

"I hope your journey is safe captain."

The captain smiled and mumbled something under his breath before replying to me. "Have a good break Mr. Spock"

"Likewise Captain."

The captain gave me a half smile and then exited the dining hall. He was a respectable man and possibly the only person that I could call a friend. During my time as a cadet I served under him as a junior science officer. For some reason the captain had grown rather fond of me and we now partook in a weekly lunch together. Many found our friendship odd due to the differences in our personalities. However the only thing I found peculiar was his insistence that I address him as Chris. As I was only a commander I found his request to be illogical.

"Hey are you going to eat that or can I clear your table?"

I withdrew from my train of thought and saw that a male cafeteria staff member had addressed me. The captain's incessant talk of fun and relaxation had sidetracked me. My plomeek soup had gone cold.

-Uhura-

When I woke up I was a mess. A surprisingly well rested mess, but a mess all the same. My communicator had awoken me and noisily informed me that I had 2 hours to prepare myself before boarding the Star Fleet provided shuttle craft to San Francisco. Thank god there was a recruitment center right by the college. Since I was short on credits, having a complimentary ride to the academy was a welcome idea. Sluggishly I got up and took a shower. My hair and face were disgusting after last night's melt down. After finishing up my morning routine I donned my red cadet uniform that I was given after being accepted into Star Fleet. I looked in the bathroom mirror and was extremely pleased with what I saw.

"Girl, you are looking fine!" I grinned broadly to myself.

My communicator beeped again signaling that it was nearly time for the shuttle craft to depart. Crap. I was going to have to run to the recruitment office to be able to make it on time. Having two large suitcases didn't help either. Oh well, the things I have to do to get a free ride I guess… I grabbed my bags and lugged them down the stairs. Before I ran out of the shop I thanked the Rigelian owner. He grunted and kindly opened the door for me as I left.

After a few agonizing minutes of running down a busy street with two enormous suitcases, I made it to the recruitment station. When I arrived the shuttle craft was still there thankfully. A few other recruits helped me store my bags and then returned onto the craft. Since I was late I had no option for seating. In the end I was seated between two very large men. I was slightly nervous being around so many strangers for the first time, but everyone seemed friendly.

"Why'd a pretty little thing like you enlist in Star Fleet?" The man on my left leaned in to ask me. He had a beard and was rather large.

"I could say the same to you." I snapped back at him. The shuttle craft went silent. I froze. Maybe that was bit too harsh to say to someone I just met.

Everyone on board the craft simultaneously burst into laughter.

"She got you Cupcake! " Someone in the front of the craft yelled.

The man on my left turned a bright red. "It was honestly meant as a compliment. I… I didn't mean to sound so…"

The guy next to him slapped him on the arm and leaned forward so that I could see him clearly.

"Believe what he's saying. This guy wouldn't hurt a fly. Can't talk worth a damn though." He had a slight southern accent and was quite handsome. However his face looked a sickly green and he was shaking a bit. "The name's Leonard. Leonard McCoy. I'm a doctor. Pleasure to meet you."

Leonard held out his hand to me and I shook it.

"I'm Uhura"

"Well Uhura do you mind telling us why you are here? It's not every day you see someone so eager to join that they're practically flying off the concrete just to make it to the craft on time."

I laughed and told them all a condensed version of my dreams of interstellar communication. It was shocking to see how easily I could tell a craft full of complete strangers my life story. Considering yesterday's events I shouldn't even be comfortable thinking about it, but here I was babbling away. The heavy emotions I felt yesterday were gone and it didn't feel like they were coming back. After I had finished explaining myself, everyone else began to talk about their experiences and why they decided to join Star Fleet. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's stories. The conversations I had on this 6 hour flight were more meaningful than any I had ever had with my father. This short flight brought me closer to my fellow cadets and to Star Fleet itself.

-Spock-

Following my lunch with Captain Pike, I immediately began sorting through my stacks of 257 new recruit forms. Since the Kobayashi Maru program was of my own design, I needed to make sure that my beta testers were perfect. This meant reading through every single recruits application form. I estimated that the task would take me a full 36 hours to accomplish, assuming that I skip my meals and eliminate the need to sleep. The process will be arduous. At the very least I was able to work in the comfort of my living quarters on campus.

7.1 hours into my sorting I came across a rather fascinating application form.

"Uhura, Nyota. Communications pathway. Graduate of the Institute for Advanced Mathematics. Fluent in 13 federation languages."

So she had accomplished her goals despite her adversity. I set her form down on top of a small stack of potential beta testers. My eyes lingered on the photo attached to her form. Her facial structure had changed considerably. It was more angular and defined than it had been since I had last seen her. The one feature that I was relieved had not changed were her eyes. They still pierced into me with an alien ferocity. For some reason, even though it was just a photo, I had to avert my gaze. This was ridiculous. I turned the form over so that the photo was no longer visible. My hand lingered on her application. Was it favoritism to put her into my potential beta tester pile? Quickly the idea was dismissed from my head.

I was justifying my own actions to myself. How illogical. Cadet Uhura was overqualified. She possessed the knowledge and skills of a 2nd year cadet in her field. She was an ideal candidate for the Kobayashi Maru program. Additionally she had programming knowledge. She could assist me with program modifications and debugging. I sat up and ran a hand over my face. Why was I becoming somewhat eager thinking about programming with a woman that I hardly knew outside of my emotional observations? I glanced at the clock at my desk. It read 4:16 am. Perhaps I did need to get some sleep.

-Uhura-

Making a pit stop in Idaho to pick up other new recruits was understandable. Having to spend the night in Idaho due to a shuttle craft malfunction was unfortunate, but understandable as well. The bar fight that ensued upon my arrival at the dive the other recruits were at even made sense. However Captain Pike's insistence that we delay our arrival to the academy by 2 hours just to give that chauvinist pig that started last night's brawl some time was beyond me.

"Alright Captain Pike has already debriefed us, why on god's green earth are we still in this tin can?" McCoy was nearly hyperventilating as he sputtered this to anyone who was listening. Clearly he did not want to be on this shuttlecraft anymore.

"He's waiting on that Kirk kid from the dive last night!" Someone from the front of the craft informed him.

"Good god I didn't even go to the bar with you guys." He unfastened himself from his seat and headed straight to the bathroom. "I can't take another minute on this flying death trap. Six hours is all I can handle. If you need me I will be locked in the bathroom."

We all laughed and assumed he was joking, but after 45 minutes he still hadn't come out. Finally after another grueling hour on the craft the guy finally showed up.

Kirk shouted "At ease gentleman!" as he boarded.

If I could roll my eyes any harder I would. He sat down a ways from me next to Leonard's empty seat.

"Never did get that name." Kirk directed this question at me.

I shook my head and smiled sarcastically. One of the air crew had managed to pry McCoy out from the bathroom. He argued with her in a mildly psychotic manner before reluctantly returning to his seat next to Kirk.

The comm came on and Captain Pike's voice echoed throughout the craft, "This is Captain Pike. We've been cleared for takeoff."

Finally, after a minor detour we were back on our way to the academy.


	6. Chapter 6

-AN-

Sorry guys my Spock is a little creepy towards Uhura at first! lol But rest assured she will warm up to him quite quickly! A few OC's in this too btw. Enjoy!

-Spock-

I awoke with a strange giddy feeling. The bond between Uhura and myself was releasing a steady stream of exhilaration. It made me feel like I could get up and run a marathon for the sheer thrill of it. Although the emotion was mildly enjoyable, I had to cap it off. According to my internal clock it was exactly 10 o'clock. I had overslept for 3 hours. This left me with half an hour to prepare myself for the cadet entrance ceremony that took place at 11 o'clock. The time would be sufficient.

I arrived at the main lecture hall with exactly 18 minutes to spare. The hall was filled to capacity with cadets. Thankfully faculty had reserved seating. I took an available seat next to Mr. Briggs the young professor who specialized in particle synthesis. He smiled at me and I nodded in acknowledgment. For the next 3 minutes Briggs fidgeted in his seat and made several odd attempts to initiate conversation with me.

He eventually managed to spit out, "S-Spock. Hey so what are you doing later on tonight?" He eventually managed to spit out.

How strange. "I am retiring to my quarters and finishing my sorting assignment given to me by command. Why are you inquiring about my duties?"

He turned pale. "Well if you are not busy-"

"I am occupied."

"Okay I'm going to come right out and say it. Some of the other staff members made a bet with me that I could get you to come hang out with us at a bar tonight. I bet over half of my salary Spock. Please. Just come with us, for an hour at least. You've never spent time with us outside of the academy. Who knows you may have fun!"

Briggs sounded desperate.

"I decline." My time should be spent working not frivolously playing about with my colleagues.

Briggs scrunched up his face "Okay. I didn't want to do this but how about I help you out on that program you've been working on. With my knowledge of particle synthesis I can make your simulator as real as possible. I'll even do it free of charge."

Briggs made a sound argument. I did need a realistic experience to give the program full authenticity.

"I will accompany you for an hour on this outing."

Briggs clasped his hand to his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Spock. I was in quite the pickle."

"But you are not covered in vinegar. I fail to see how that relates."

"Just know that I am in your debt Spock." Briggs said in a joyous tone.

It was now exactly 11 o'clock and Admiral Barnett entered the floor and gave the commencement address to the new cadets. The room was silent. As I had heard and memorized this speech already I turned my attentions elsewhere. My mind began probing Uhura's bond to test whether or not she was of close proximity. She felt close but she was definitely not in the hall. It was curious that she would miss the commencement address. I felt a pang of regret at not being able to see her today; however my duties lied with Briggs and my sorting assignment. My class roster had already showed that she had been assigned my Xenolinguisitcs 200 level class. Usually new recruits were not allowed entrance into this class. However due to her high level of aptitude I permitted the exception. Without a doubt I will be seeing my fair share of cadet Uhura during her academy career.

Forty five minutes later the commencement ceremonies ended and the faculty was able to return to their duties. I headed straight for my quarters. Due to the unexpected invitation from Briggs I would need to go through as many applications as I could before my outing.

Briggs ran up to me and had to keep a light jog to maintain my pace. "We're all going to meet at the lobby in the faculty quarters building okay? At 8 o'clock!"

"Affirmative." I did not see why this man was so enthused for me to be present at a social gathering. However this could prove to be a valuable learning experience for me. I still found human interactions to be the most difficult of any species. It was needless to say that the practice would be beneficial.

-Uhura-

We missed the commencement ceremony by three hours. I couldn't even enjoy that fact that we were at the academy because I was so pissed. Everyone exited the craft and stretched to their heart's content. McCoy stumbled out and bent over with his hands on his knees. Kirk slapped him on the back and helped McCoy straighten himself and McCoy seemed to have made fast friends. Kirk seemed like a pleasant enough guy, but his arrogance and that fact that he made us exceptionally late did not help my view on him.

"I for one am thrilled that we missed all that boring talking crap. Aren't you guys?" Kirk announced loudly as we made our way across campus.

I shot him a glare. He stopped talking and swallowed hard. McCoy grabbed Kirk by the arm and drew a line across his own neck with his thumb.

"If you know what's good for you Jim, you'll shut the hell up." McCoy laughed and trailed ahead of Kirk.

Great now the idiot was walking next to me.

"So Uhura, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Let's let bygones be bygones and just start a new leaf!" He flashed a flirtatious smile at me.

"Fine. Now hurry up, we still have to pick up our schedules and find our dorms."

"God I hope it's co-ed."

"Gross." I grimaced at his crudeness.

"C'mon it was a joke. A joke Uhura."

I broke into a fast walk and left him in the dust.

"See you when classes start up then!" He shouted obnoxiously.

I turned around to see hi waving furiously at me. What was wrong with him?

A short trip to the student resources center gave me all the information I needed. I was assigned dorm room 316 with an Orion roommate named Gaila K'allos. She was on route to be a computer security personnel. At least I knew we would have one thing in common. The women's dormitories were huge and took quite some time to navigate. By the time I found my room it was already well past 4 o'clock. I knocked on the door before entering to signal my arrival.

I laid my palm upon the door and it automatically slid open. Touch censor doors were pretty handy. As I entered my room, the first thing I noticed about it was the fact that it was pitch black inside. The windows had the blinds closed and all the lights were turned off.

"Hello? I'm your roommate Uhura. Sorry that I'm late." I walked further into the room and no one responded. "Hello?"

Suddenly a green flash appeared before my eyes. A beaming Orion girl's face was within an inch and a half of mine. I screamed and fell to the floor. My heart felt like it was about to burst.

"You must be Nyota! It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gaila! I hope that we become best friends!" the Orion girl was crouched down next to me. She was wearing just a lace black bra for a top and black hot pants for bottoms. What the hell?

"Where's you uniform?" I stammered.

"Oh that old thing? It was getting stuffy in here so Gary helped me take it off." She giggled and stood up. "Speaking of Gary, I think its best that you are on your way. We can always finish up another time." Using one finger she increased the light settings to 85% on the control pad adjacent to her.

As my eyes focused to the new exposure I saw a sandy haired man desperately getting dressed in the middle of the room. The man halted and stood at attention.

"Gary Mitchell, 1st year cadet. I apologize for the situation; Gaila told me that her roommate would be getting in later tonight.

"Oh did she?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked down at me and shrugged. "I really didn't know when you'd arrive. Sorry!"

The man known as Gary shot Gaila a dirty look and then rushed out of our room. What kind of roommate had I been assigned? I stood up and straightened out my uniform. Gaila plopped down onto her bed and smiled at me. She really was beautiful. Her green skin perfectly complimented her red hair. I found myself a tad bit envious that I didn't look that exotic.

"So now what am I gonna do for the rest of the night?" She pouted and pointed a finger at me.

"I don't know. Sleep maybe?" Why was this girl making it seem like I was ruining her night? I sure wasn't expecting this kind of situation upon entering my room.

"Nyota. Can I call you Ny?"

I nodded, not wanting to cause any more conflict.

"Please Ny. It's barely 5. That's boring… Oh I know! Let's go to a bar! A few of the 2nd year cadets invited me out tonight, let's go together."

She bounced up and grabbed my hands. My eyes widened; she sure was fast. I inhaled a deep breath. She smelled so amazing, unlike anything I have ever smelt before. I felt like I couldn't deny her anything.

"Hey! Stop that! Don't pull any of your Orion pheromone crap on me!" I dropped her hands and took a few steps back from her.

Gaila laughed and took a few steps closer to me. "Okay I won't anymore, but you have to promise to come with me!" She pursed her lips and made her eyes as big as possible.

I sighed and knew that I was going to regret my answer. "Fine. But I don't have anything to wear."

Gaila squealed with delight and gave me quick hug. "That's fine I have plenty of clothes you can borrow. Oh! You have got to let me do your hair and makeup, okay? I bet you'd looked smokin' with a cat's eye."

I already regretted decision to appease her.

-Spock-

The bar that the other faculty members had chosen to go to on this excursion to was entitled Quasar's. Since the bar was not located at the center of a galactic nucleus the title confused me. Also the term bar for this establishment seemed wrong. 85% of the ground space was occupied by a dance floor. The appropriate term would be club.

"So how're you enjoying the club Spock? I can't believe that Briggs got you to come."

The woman addressing me was a command line instructor named Shoshana Harari. She was a great tactician and negotiator. I was surprised that she had not been assigned the task of inviting me to this social gathering.

"It is stimulating." I responded for lack of a better term.

Currently all of the academy faculty under the age of 30 were present at our table. This consisted of 3 men excluding myself and 5 women. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Many of them appeared intoxicated. Due to my heightened metabolism the alcohol I consumed did not affect me. This trait allowed me to observe my colleagues to the full extent of my abilities.

"Yeah thanks for coming Spock. You really saved my ass." Briggs replied loudly from across the table.

"Although I do not see how I have assisted your donkey, your ass is most welcome Professor Briggs."

The whole table erupted into laughter. I did not understand why what I said was humorous. So far this outing has only caused me to become even further confused by human behavior. The loud pulsating music that shook the entire building was not helping my concentration either. Professor Harari had been inching towards me in her seat the entire 72 minutes we had been here. This was distracting as well. I had fulfilled my allotted 1 hour time limit but I found it difficult to leave.

"Spock let's dance! I've never seen a Vulcan dance before. Let's dance." Professor Harari slurred as she spoke. This was understandable as she had consumed 6 shots of Andorian ale.

"Vulcans do not dance. I shall have to refuse you request."

Shoshana laughed and moved even closer to me. Her hand grazed mine during the movement and a small bond formed between us. A swarm of her feelings assailed me. Excitement and lust were the predominate ones. It was fascinating that alcohol could allow one to lose their inhibitions so fully; however her feelings towards me made me uncomfortable. I immediately broke the bond and stood up to take my leave.

"I have fulfilled my obligations and have stayed for an hour." I turned to exit the premise. As I turned I felt hand grab onto the fabric of my right sleeve. I turned my head 90 degrees to see who had caught me. It was Briggs.

"Spock wait can I talk to you for a minute?"

I was beginning to feel exasperated. I had already spoken to Briggs 67 times more frequently in one day than I had my entire academy career.

"Fine. Speak." I said shortly.

His eyes shifted towards Professor Harari who now held what I assumed to be a disappointed look on her face.

"Can I speak to you in private?"

"You may speak to me outside for 4 minutes."

Briggs nodded and followed me to the exterior of the building. The outside air felt fresh and cool. The sky was clear and I could clearly identify 2 earth constellations above me.

"Thanks for coming again Spock." Briggs breathed in the night air deeply. "Though I gotta be honest I had ulterior motives for inviting you here. I hope that doesn't offend you."

"There is no offense where none is taken."

"Well you see I have this major crush on Shoshana. I've liked her ever since our days in the academy. I've asked her out to go with all the other faculty on other occasions, but she's always had some kind of excuse. Then one day I made some snide comment that it'd be easier to get you to come out with us then to get her to. Everyone got all excited and made bets with me that I couldn't get you to go. Shoshana even agreed to go if you came along." Briggs contorted his face into some kind of unidentifiable expression.

I was confused as to why Professor Harari would feel more obligated to attend the social gathering if I went.

"I know what you're thinking Spock, 'Why would my presence inspire others to attend a function such as this?' or some logical crap like that. Well I'm sure you don't know but you're pretty much the faculty heart throb." He rolled his eyes.

"I do not understand how I can be compared to heart palpitations Briggs."

"All the female staff like you or something Spock! It's totally unfair! They think you're dark and broody or something and they eat it up." Briggs fell into a bench that was situated in front of the club. I remained standing.

"Fascinating." I thought aloud. I did not unnecessarily mingle with any of the staff, be it male or female. It was strange that they held a fondness for me without any effort input on my part.

"Yeah it sure is fascinating." He ran a hand over his face and regained composure. "Well thanks for listening to me whine for a bit Spock. I had to let you know why I tried so hard to get you to come otherwise my conscious might have killed me. You really should come out with us again sometime."

I pondered Briggs' problem for a moment. "It appears that you conundrum could produce more results by simply informing Professor Harari of your intentions towards her."

His mood appeared to lighten and his posture straightened on the bench. "You really think it would Spock?"

"Logically speaking yes. Now whether or not the results are negative or positive all depend on a multitude of other factors that are out of…"

"Ahp-pahp-pahp! Stop right there Spock." He waved his hands frantically in a drunken stupor. "Drunk me is going to take your advice! I'm going to march back in there and tell Shoshana how I really feel."

"That sounds like a logical course of action."

"Thanks. You know for someone with no emotions you're pretty darn insightful Spock." He stood up and patted my right shoulder. "See you around! I'll tell you if anything good happens."

I nodded and watched Briggs stumble back into the club. It was always odd that humans assumed I had no emotions. Just because I did not openly express them did not mean I was incapable of them. For example at the moment I was feeling mild enragement.

Mild enragement? These emotions were not mine. Due to the club's exceptionally loud music I had had to muffle my bond to be able to focus on what my peers were saying. Now that I was alone and outside I could feel the bond very strongly. Nyota Uhura must be within close proximity of me. It was astounding that I had not noticed her presence earlier. I glanced around with the hopes of possibly viewing her. My efforts were in vain as she was most likely in the club. As I did not wish to renter the building I decided to call for a hover taxi to pick me back up and return me to the academy. Just as I had taken my communicator out of my pocket, the club's double doors burst open.

"Leave me alone alright! I've already shot down all of your dumb pickup lines so just pick a new target." A woman had thrown open the doors and was storming out of the structure. A Star Fleet cadet was trailing after her. The woman stopped walking when she was 2 feet past me. She turned her head and stared at me. I stared back as well.

"It's you." She muttered while standing almost perfectly still, a task at which I marveled at.

Standing before me was Nyota Uhura, the human I had been observing all these years. I wanted to reply to her but my vocal chords would not respond. It felt as if a fourth wall had been broken between us and there was nothing I could think of to say.

-Uhura-

There he was again. Of course he would happen to be standing outside of a club that I was being harassed at. After being decked out in full hair and makeup by Gaila, she insisted that I wear one of her dresses. Being the fool that I am I agreed. Now I was at a loud 'bar' filled with fellow cadets in an orange cocktail dress with geometric cutouts all over it. Since the bar was actually a club the interior was quite dark with bright strobe lights everywhere. The music pulsated so loudly that it made it difficult to walk in the 5 inch heels Gaila had forced me to wear.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a bar?" I yelled at her upon entering the noisy establishment.

"No it's a club! Who said anything about a bar?" she screamed back.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"C'mon don't be like that Ny! It'll be fun. Right when you walked into our dorm room I could tell that you needed a little fun." She smiled and grabbed onto my hand.

She sounded sincere towards the end. Gaila was right; I did need to have some fun after the partial horror that was my life these past few days. However I felt like our ideas of fun were vastly different. Gaila had led us into the middle of the floor where we were now being jostled around. I felt very uncomfortable dancing in front of so many strangers, so I just ended up standing there. Gaila had already found a group of men who were all clawing at each other for the chance to dance with her. Orion pheromones were really something else. She motioned for me to join her but I shook my head to signal that that was going to be a no. She made a pouty face but I was not swayed. Ten minutes on the dance floor was more than enough for me. I sifted through the crowd until I found the seated bar area. Being able to sit and order a drink seemed like heaven compared to the dance floor.

"Hey, nice shoes. Want to make your parents proud?"

I looked up from my Cardassian sunrise. A juggernaut cadet was now sitting across from me at my table. I kept on drinking and didn't respond.

"Ah the silent treatment. I like your type, playing hard to get." He grinned and began to play footsises with me under the table.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch me." I pulled my feet under my own chair. This guy was a creep.

"C'mon girl, it's not my fault that I'm acting this way. It's your fault for being all sexy and shit."

I stood up and left the table. This was getting to be ridiculous. Sorry Gaila, the sentiment for inviting me was nice but I think I'd rather walk home than get hit on by some random loser.

"Hey wait up! This is only making me want you more! I love when chicks play hard to get."

The slimeball was still following me. I weaved through the crowded entrance and shoved my way through the door. I could still feel him there.

"Leave me alone alright! I've already shot down all of your dumb pickup lines so just pick a new target." I shouted back at him in the most menacing voice I could manage. I kept going with the hopes that he'd give up. I would've walked all the way back to the academy without so much as a glance back if it weren't for the person I saw out of the corner of my eye.

"It's you." I said under my breathe. It really was him. Spock, the Vulcan boy who had helped me back at the convention. Tragically I couldn't allow any sentiments to take place. The boy who had helped set the course of my life was now a man that was seeing me in a ridiculous dress in an outlandish situation. Great. We stared at each other in silence. Still as awkward as ever I see.

"So are you guys going to stare at each other any longer or are we gonna make out lady?" the meathead said.

Spock's gaze jerked over to the cadet. He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Cadet I believe you have somewhere else to be."

"No I don't you pointy eared weirdo. I saw her first."

"Cadet do you realize you are speaking to a superior officer? If you do not vacate the premise immediately I will be forced to recommend you for expulsion." Spock said in a surprisingly jagged tone.

"Whatever man you can't do anything." The muscly jerk waved his hands.

Spock turned back towards me. "Do you require his presence?"

I said unsure of how to respond so I just said no. Spock walked over to the bothersome cadet.

"Before I do this apologize to her."

The cadet looked over at me and smirked, "Hell no I won't. and what are you even gonna do to me? Huh?" The cadet began to laugh obnoxiously.

Spock's right hand lashed out and grabbed the man by his shoulder. The cadet screamed and then fell to the floor. Spock had just successfully taken down a man twice his size.

I clapped my hands in appreciation. It was kind of exciting to see a Vulcan nerve pinch up close and personal. "Spock, thank you for helping me but I assure you that I could have handled the situation on my own."

He stared at me for a while, not responding or anything. Just staring. I began to fidget and feel uncomfortable. Spock finally noticed and responded.

"I am quite sure that you would have handled the situation with great tact cadet Uhura. However, this manner of solving the situation seemed to be the most logical and efficient."

I crossed my arms and nodded. "Well thanks anyways…By the way how did you know I was a cadet?"

His mouth hung partially agape. "Based on the fact that you are in San Francisco and you came to a…" he looked back at the club "…Facility that is frequented by cadets and academy staff, it is safe to assume that you are indeed a cadet."

"Really? That's how you knew?" I gave him an incredulous look. His eyes shied away immediately.

"As a commander and professor at Star Flee I was also charged with sorting the cadet applications this semester." he muttered.

So he had seen my form; that made more sense. I checked the watch I was wearing, it was only 10:30 but I was more than exhausted.

"Commander, are you by any chance heading back to the academy?"

"Affirmative."

"Would you like to walk back to the academy with me?"

He raised his left eyebrow as if the request had shocked him. "Will you be able to walk back to the academy while wearing that footwear? The academy is 1.3 miles away from this point. I can order a taxi if it would be more convenient."

I stifled a laugh, I couldn't tell if he was being chivalrous or not. "No it's fine I brought a pair of flats in my purse." I took off Gaila's obscene heels and slipped on my black flats. "Now I'm prepared to walk."

He nodded and began walking a few paces ahead of me. I trotted up next to him and he moved about 2 feet away in response. I guess old habits die hard.

"Thank you for accompanying me commander."

"As it is late it would not be safe for me to allow you to venture home on your own."

He was walking while looking at the ground. I doubted that he would look up once on our mile long walk back to campus.

"I see we have both defied our pre-planned destinies." I said in hopes of lightening the mood. Although I wanted to inform Spock of everything that had happened up to this point and thank him, he was making it extremely difficult to bring up any sort of conversation.

"Being that you are now a cadet and I did not join the Vulcan Science Academy your observation would be correct."

"Did your father take it well when you told him that you weren't joining the academy?"

"Seeing as he has not spoken to me once since my revocation of my invitation to the academy, I believe he did not."

"Now what do you do?" Good, he was starting to open up, no eye contact yet but now I was hopeful.

"I teach advanced Xenolinguistics and foreign diplomacy classes at Star Fleet academy. Along with some supplemental science courses."

"That must be interesting! I may end up in some of your classes then."

"As you are aiming to be a communications specialist you will have to."

My lips formed a hard line; this was going to be harder than I thought. Since we were almost half way there I might as well just blurt out whatever I wanted to say.

"You know I really want to thank you Spock. A few days ago I told my father about my decision to join Star Fleet. It was harsh, but those words you told me all those years ago gave me the strength to do it."

I was smiling and had turned around to walk backwards. To my surprise he was actually looking up at me. I noticed that he was wearing a black Star Fleet issued t-shirt and gray slacks. The shirt was form fitting and showed off his slight but muscular physique well. It just now occurred to me that I wasn't talking to the young Vulcan boy in my memories. Awkward or not he was now a fully grown man. He stopped walking and the aura around him seemed to soften.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." He said softly and looked off to the sky.

For some reason I felt like crying. I was able to tell the man who had given me hope all those years ago how much gratitude I had for him. Spock took a few steps closer to me until he was within arm's reach. His left hand extend over to my shoulder. It hovered maybe an inch off of me. For a moment his eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion. Then it was gone. He retracted his hand and firmly placed it at his side.

"It is getting late cadet, we are only .2 miles away from the academy. It would be best to arrive in a timely manner."

I nodded and watched him as he strode ahead of me. For the rest of the walk we were silent. Even though it was a bit odd I didn't mind it. Once we reached the academy he even accompanied me to my dorm building.

"Well this is my building commander. Thank you for accompanying me."

"It was not a difficult task." He said sternly.

We stood there in the moonlight for a few moments more. I waited for him to say something more; how foolish of me.

"Alright I'm going to go inside." I pointed to the doors leading inside. "I hope to be in one of your classes when the semester starts commander."

He folded his arms behind his back, "That would be most satisfactory cadet Uhura."

I flashed him a small smile and made my way inside. Once I made it to my dorm room I decided to open up my curtains to look at the beautiful clear sky once more before going to sleep in my lovely Gaila-less room. After a few minutes of star gazing I decided it was time to hit the hay. I began to close my curtains and by chance happened to look down at the direction of the dorm lobby. Spock was still there gazing at the entrance. His eyes shot up and locked onto me. I gasped and shut the curtains. What was that?! My left hand pulled open the curtain just enough for me to peek out of the window. Spock was gone. I let out a breath of relief. It appears that the line between being a stalker and being incredibly awkward were much closer than I had previously thought. Hopefully he'll get even a bit less peculiar the more I get to know him…


	7. Chapter 7

**-AN-**

Phew! This ended up being a long chapter! Pretty fluffy. The next chapter will be quite a bit more serious! Well here you guys go, hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for all the encouragement and corrections you all give me. I really need it :)

**-Spock-**

As soon as she entered her dormitory building, I allowed my body to relax. Never before had I felt so stressed by simply being in the company of a single entity. The fact that I had not anticipated seeing cadet Uhura did not help to ease my nervousness around her. The interaction seemed to go well. She even thanked me for the advice I had given her. However, except for the key points of the conversation, I could not remember what we had discussed. For some reason my brain kept reliving her image over and over again even though she had left only 48 seconds ago. My senses were bombarded with everything that embodied cadet Uhura. Her scent was especially strong and kept popping up in my olfactory system. She smelled like fresh fruit and honey. My eyes closed as I experienced the wonderful scent. In the middle of the occurrence I felt a sharp sense of alarm emanate from the bond. My eyes opened and I gazed in the direction of its origin. Cadet Uhura had spotted me from her room's window and was now hiding behind her curtains. I realized that I had been standing there in the middle of the night for well over 6 minutes. To avoid drawing further suspicion I vacated the premise as quickly as I could. It was not my intention to alarm her, I simply lost track of time.

Upon arrival at my quarters I decided to meditate to clear my mind. I was grateful that my incense burner was already prepared and my meditation mat was out as well. I lit the incense and came into lotus position on my mat. Instantaneously I felt a sense of clarity wash over me. Vulcan meditation techniques were extremely effective for clearing one's mind. I began internally reciting the teachings of Surak while retreating deeper into my subconscious. After 12.3 minutes I was fully submerged into my own mind. I could see my bonds surrounding me; each with their own distinctive color. My mother's shone a bright pink and floated about carelessly. Father's bond on the other hand was very dim and gray, I assume this was because of our decline in interactions. Even the miniscule bond that was forcibly held between my betrothed T'pring and I was visible. I observed these bonds momentarily before being dragged into the hidden innermost corner of my mind that held Uhura's bond. Although I knew it was futile I attempted to steer clear of that recess in favor of less provocative areas. Unfortunately, during my retreat I caught a glimpse of her bond, it was orange and bright.

How befitting that it was orange; just like the form fitting dress she wore tonight. Though the dress was restrictive in movement it was remarkably aesthetically pleasing. The cutouts were placed in such a way that 18% more of her smooth skin was shown then in a standard human dress. The garment itself had been cut short, but this was advantageous for it allowed optimal viewing of the cadet's long legs. Her legs took up approximately 57% of her slight body. My memories began to wander upwards and stopped to focus on cadet Uhura's mouth.

Her full lips parted, "Spock" she said.

I reveled in the memory. The way she said my name was no different from anyone else, but I wished for her to keep repeating it. My name had never meant more to me than a means of addressing myself until she spoke it tonight. Next to appear in my recollections were her deep brown eyes. On this night she had applied makeup to accentuate them, and it was successful. I had felt captivated to the point of being paralyzed when she first laid eyes upon me after exiting the club. Her eyes reminded me of another pair of eyes I had met. The insolent cadet's eyes. Never before had I been filled with so much rage. How could he possibly speak to her in such a manor? She who is light years ahead of him in every aspect. It was a travesty to think that he could behave so rudely towards cadet Uhura. She was mine and was to be treated with the utmost respect.

My meditation snapped and I was sucked back into the real world. What had I just thought? In the deepest sections of my mind did I really want her as my own? I stood up and aimlessly wandered through my quarters. Never before had I felt like this. It was a dangerous thought. Not only was I her soon to be instructor; I was also engaged to be married. Even if the marriage was a sham of a relationship and both parties wanted nothing to do with each other, I was still obligated to her. I wandered into my sleeping quarters and lay on my bed. My options immediately became clear.

Completely eliminate the bond between cadet Uhura and myself

Keep the bond but drop the xenolinguistics classes and teach the sciences exclusively to avoid all contact with her

Seek council from my mother on the matter

To my displeasure I found option three to be the most logical but embarrassing. It would have to suffice. Tomorrow I would send a holovid to my mother with the goal of gaining some valuable advice. I folded my hands over my stomach and hoped to find tranquility in sleep. Of course the opposite occurred. I assumed that it was the human half of me that was tormenting my mind with more images of cadet Uhura. I imagined stroking her long and sleek hair. I assume that it was soft due to its sheen and movement. Perhaps she would say my name again soon so I could hear her clearly enunciate each syllable. A smile was starting to creep upon my face.

This was not going to work.

I sat up and headed over to my desk. There were still 118 cadet forms to sort through. As sleeping was not an option, work was going to have to be my solution for finding some peace of mind.

-Uhura-

The next morning I was awoken by the sound of my door opening and closing while someone clumsily stumbled in. The clock next to my bed said that it was 5:14 am. I had hoped that I would be able to sleep in today. Guess that wasn't an option for me given my roommate. I groaned and rolled over in my bed, pulling the comforter over my head to create a cozy cocoon.

"Oh sorry Ny! I'll try and be quieter."

Of course it was Gaila. For the next twenty minutes I was forced to endure the sounds of her shuffling about the room. Finally after some oddly loud moments in the bathroom, Gaila finally went to sleep. My weary eyes closed and I was able to drift back into sleepy bliss.

"Hey. Hey Nyota. Want to get breakfast in the cafeteria with me?"

My eyes shot open, the clock said 7:30. "Good god Gaila don't you ever sleep?"

"Usually yes, almost excessively. But I don't feel tired, just hungry. Anyways its breakfast time and I know there's a replicator with your name on it." She plopped down onto my bed and began prodding me with one of her long green fingers.

"Gaila. Stop. Stop poking me." I was starting to get mad and she didn't show any signs of stopping.

"What's the magic words?" she sang.

"I don't even have enough credits to buy breakfast anymore, so just forget it."

"The food here is free for all academy members you know that right? You also get a free PADD too. Have you gotten that yet?"

I knew she was baiting me and sadly it was working. "Alright fine, just let me get dressed. My feet are killing me after wearing your shoes all night you know." I got up and went into the bathroom to wash my face.

"Oh about last night Ny, I'm so sorry that I left you! I didn't even know you were gone until around 2 am. How'd you even get home by the way?"

I could see her face in the mirror and it held genuine regret. Sometimes I wish I didn't have a conscious.

"It's fine Gaila, clubs just aren't really my thing. All that matters is that you invited me." I was lying through my teeth but her mood lightened substantially. "Also I walked home. I brought some flats with me so it was all good."

Gaila gasped and pretended to faint. "You walked home all by yourself in the dark? What if someone had jumped you? You are quite… easy on the eyes."

I made a face of disgust at her through the mirror. "C'mon Gaila I know at least basic self-defense. I would have been fine. Anyways I didn't go home alone, Commander Spock walked back to the academy with me since we were headed the same way."

Her mouth hung agape in shock. "Wait hold up. You walked home with the Commander Spock? Tall dark and pointy?"

"Yeah what of it? He was outside of the club when I left. Plus I met him at this convention thing a long time ago so it wasn't that weird or anything."

"I'm so jealous Ny. I saw him at the commencement ceremony and he was to die for. All the older cadets say that he's some kind of Casa Nova." She winked suggestively at me and I ignored it.

"Really? Does he actually talk to them?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Well no not that I've heard of. I think it's more of how he doesn't talk all that much. It makes him mysterious is what they say. He also has that whole 'I'm half alien' thing going for him." She swooned and then go back on topic. "How was it walking back with the commander? Did he show you any of his Vulcan hand techniques?" She giggled at her own joke.

I gazed back blankly at her with a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth. I spat and rinsed before replying, "It was fine. I'd say he's more awkward and weird than foreign and mysterious though."

"Aw you're no fun. Maybe I'll take a stab at him, turn on the old Orion charm!" she squealed and rolled around on my bed.

"I highly doubt that your pheromones would affect him. Good luck with that though." I slicked my hair back into a tight ponytail and pulled on a black t-shirt and my gray regulation exercise pants. For casual clothing it was still pretty form fitting. "Anyways I'm ready to go eat and get my PADD, let's go."

"Fine miss grumpy pants I'm ready too. Maybe the commander will be at the dining hall and we can bug him!" She got off of my bed and began running circles round me.

"I highly doubt that Gaila…" I was never going to hear the end of this. To keep my head from exploding I began reciting pi; that always helped to calm me down.

-Spock-

**_"Spock? S'chin T'gai Spock? Are you awake yet?"_**

A mysterious voice was calling to me in Vulcan. My eyes opened slowly to take in my environment. What I saw stunned me. Nyota Uhura was in my quarters wearing a sheer white sundress. She was standing nonchalantly in front of my work desk with the morning sun illuminating her from behind. The light gave her a divine quality. Her dark hair was down and she was coyly playing with a strand of it in between her thumb and her forefingers. I opened my mouth to inquire as to why she was here, but she placed an index finger over her mouth. This was a human convention to signal silence. Although I generally did not enjoy being touched, it was quite different when she did it. I did not speak a word. Uhura bent down over the desk so that her face was only half an inch away from mine. Her sun soaked hair fell around her face and enveloped my field of vision.

**_"Spock"_** she said again. Slowly and quietly this time. Each syllable of my name lingered on her lips.

I felt an immense amount of pleasure from hearing her say my name again. Keep saying it. Please. My right hand reached out towards her smiling face. Just as I was about to graze her cheek with my fingertips a loud noise erupted from my immediate left. Startled, I glanced down at where the noise should be emanating from, but saw nothing unusual. With that issue dismissed my attention shifted back to Uhura, but she had disappeared.

_BEEP BEEEP BEEEEP_

I awoke with my head face down on my desk. My PADD to the left of me was signaling an incoming holovid. My body was covered in a cold sweat and I did not feel like answering a call unless it was absolutely necessary. The PADD's screen displayed a still image of my mother's avatar picture. What reasons could she have for calling me? I straightened myself out as best I could and attempted to hide the shame and confusion I was feeling so that I could effectively answer the call. Before answering I gave my room a once over to make sure the apparition had gone. Nyota Uhura was nowhere to be found. My fingers slid over my PADD and accepted my mother's call.

"Finally Spock! I thought you'd never answer." Mother said in a jovial tone, inferring sarcasm.

"I apologize mother. I was up late working last night and fell asleep at my desk."

She crossed her arms and made a face of general displeasure. "How typical of you to work between semesters Spock. Give yourself a break every now and again!"

"Is my health to be the main reason of your call?" I asked her. If she did not have anything of importance to say I would like to talk to her about my own issues as soon as possible. I felt famished and the cafeteria would only be open for breakfast for another hour and 17 minutes.

"No, no Spock. I am sure you are in perfect physical health. My call is actually to check up on your mental health. Are you finally ready to talk about that little bond you formed with that girl at the convention all those years ago?"

I snapped to attention and sat up straighter. "That bond was supposed to be personal and not visible to others. How did you come to be aware of it?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Spock dear, I'm your mother. I notice everything about you. I felt the bond the moment it formed, but I never felt it break. I just assumed that you kept it in that strange dark little secret corner of your mind that you keep on mental lock down. Also after that convention you became increasingly more aware of human emotions and expressions. Sadly you didn't really adopt any of them." She laughed quietly and looked straight back at me.

I began to fidget in my seat. Why did I not just communicate my issues with her telepathically? At least then I would have been spared her teasing looks. "Does father know about it?"

"I highly doubt it. Your father has never really been a perceptive man, plus the bond between you two has never really been all that strong. It's gotten even weaker since he began refusing to speak to you. So I wouldn't worry yourself too much with Sarek's views on things." She gave me a weak smile and then shifted in her chair. "So is this girl beautiful? Smart? Talented? What's her name?"

"She is in possession of all of these traits. Her name is Nyota Uhura and she is a new cadet at Star Fleet academy." I paused in thought for 5.8 seconds. "I wish to break my bond with T'Pring and become fully bonded with Nyota Uhura. What advice would you be able to give me on the matter?"

There. I had said it. The topic was out in the open and could be logically resolved. My mother's face scrunched up in an expression eerily similar to that of Professor Briggs'.

"Now Spock. You've only been around this girl since… When did the cadets get in?" Her face returned to a more natural expression.

"Yesterday." I replied.

"Oh dear… just yesterday? Spock listen, breaking off an engagement is a big deal. I'm about as fond of T'Pring as you are, but the marriage is very important to your father since he arranged it." Her tone sounded incredulous.

"I am sure of my decision."

"Well even though you're sure, I'm still not sure that this is the right choice. At least not just yet. Why don't we take baby steps first and see where this relationship goes. Have you told her about all of this yet?"

"Negative, I have not informed her. Also I fail to see how taking 'baby steps' will help in this situation." My mother was giving me puzzling advice.

"By baby steps I mean just taking it slow. Oh I know! Why don't you two start off as being friends? Since she's most likely going to be your student giving her a few years to get to know you wouldn't be a bad thing. Plus forcing your proposal of bonding onto a girl you've just met again is generally not socially acceptable Spock. Let's not do that."

I pondered her proposition. "Friendship is the logical first step towards a bond for humans?"

"Yes Spock. Make friends with her and then we can make a game plan from there."

"Thank you for your insight mother. Live long and prosper." I performed my goodbye and the Ta'al in hopes that she would drop the subject so I could eat and alleviate any further embarrassment.

"Peace and long life Spock. But just make sure you call me with updates. Otherwise I'm going to forcibly probe your brain for details." She grinned and waved at me before signing off.

Surprisingly, mother's advice had been sufficient. I would begin with friendship and see if the relationship progressed any further. Now that the issue of Nyota Uhura was solved, I had 41 minutes left to reach the cafeteria and eat before the staff took their break.

**-Nyota-**

Gaila insisted that we get breakfast before taking me to get my PADD.

"My stomach is going to start eating itself if we don't go Ny!" She wailed as we exited the campus. Her hands clutched at her stomach and she puffed out her cheeks.

I rolled my eyes and gave her a quick nod in agreement. It was too early to argue and some sweet pancakes did sound good. When we got to the cafeteria the place was packed. I guess we had come at a popular time. Gaila grabbed my hand and dragged me into a line for a replicator. After 20 minutes in line I was finally able to get my coveted pancakes. Gaila got some strange colored soup and a cup of coffee. We sat down together across from each other at a small empty table near the staff seating.

"Man, I didn't think I was this hungry but man do these pancakes smell good!" I smiled down at my plate; pancakes and a large helping of fruit. Just as I was about to dig in, I noticed that something was wrong. No syrup. I had forgotten to order the most crucial part of my breakfast. My head slumped onto the table and I let out a groan. There wasn't enough time to get back in line. My pancakes were just going to have to be dry.

"What'sa matter Ny?" Gaila sounded like she was ingesting her soup as fast as she possibly could. "You don't like you pancakes?" She slurped and made a satisfying gasping sound. "Man this is so good. Just like grandma used to make it."

Gaila jabbered on while I made no effort to respond. Then she went silent. I assumed she was now downing her cup of coffee. Although the cafeteria itself was noisy, it was still nice to have a break from her constant noise.

"H-hello Commander! What brings you to the..uhm cafeteria?"

Commander? Who was she talking to in such a stiff way? I lifted my head up from the table and saw Gaila with a bewildered face. I glanced to my right to see exactly who she was talking to. Talk about déjà vu.

"Greetings Cadet Uhura and Cadet K'allos."

It was Spock. He was carrying a large try of pancakes and was staring down at us. As usual his face held no expression. Surprisingly though he was in a more casual outfit; he wore a form fitting regulation gray t-shirt with black exercise pants. The exact opposite of me.

A green hand reached across the table to bring my face closer. "Ny he knows my name." Gaila whispered behind her hand excitedly. God, did she think he was deaf?

"Yes I am aware of your name Cadet K'allos. It is a pleasure to meet you." He answered her politely.

Gaila looked shocked but continued talking to him. "Well since we all know each other here how about you sit with us for breakfast?" She smiled and threw her arms out to show off our empty table.

He glanced at me and a tiny bit of emotion flashed across his face. Strange.

"Seeing as the staff tables are all currently occupied and this is the only available table in the vicinity, that would be the most logical choice." He began to put his tray down next to Gaila but stopped before he sat down. "My presence here does not hinder you Cadet Uhura, Cadet K'allos?"

I opened my mouth to reply but Gaila interjected. " Nonsense! The more the merrier. Sit down commander." Gaila pulled on Spock's sleeve and dragged him to the seat next to her.

Well this was awkward. Gaila was beaming and sipping her coffee while Spock and I just stared blankly at each other. At least now he could look at me without averting his eyes.

"How strange that you both got the same breakfast!" Gaila interjected. Thankfully she was quite good at breaking the ice.

"Yeah, a real coincidence Gaila." I cut into my dry pancakes and proceeded to place a chunk into my mouth. It didn't taste all that great.

"Here." Spock was holding out a small pitcher filled with syrup.

How did he know that I needed syrup? I shrugged and took the pitcher from him. It was way too early in the morning to comprehend the commander's behavior. However I was grateful for the syrup. I dowsed my pancakes in the sweet goodness and handed the pitcher back to him. Now they were so delicious that I would inhale them if humanly possible.

"Ugh Ny slow down. Why can't you eat properly like the commander here?" Gaila put a hand on Spock's shoulder and he visibly withdrew from her.

"Cadet K'allos I would appreciate it if you refrain from any unnecessary toughing."

I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing. Gaila gave me a shocked look while Spock continued to properly consume his pancakes. It seemed that she had never before encountered someone who was immune to her charms. Apparently she had never met a Vulcan. To my disdain Gaila did not give up and was constantly bombarding the commander with questions.

"What's your favorite color?"

"It is illogical to favor one color over another."

"Which would you rather fight? A Drakoulias or a Mugato?"

"Neither would be preferable."

The questions went on and on and I just sat there and watched it happened while eating my pancakes. Spock was begging to show small signs of frustration. A twitch in his left hand, his right eyebrow raising ever so slightly. Once you saw the signs they were easy to spot. Gaila was becoming visually distressed by her efforts as well but much less subtly. Her cheeks were red and she put her coffee mug on the table quite harshly. At this point I should probably intervene; but it was just too entertaining to watch their banter.

"Alright Mr. Logic! Where did you meet Nyota?"

Spock looked taken aback by the question. Gaila put her hands on her hips triumphantly.

"Well Commander?" she whispered in what she obviously thought to be a provocative tone.

"I met Cadet Uhura in her homeland of Kenya in the United States of Africa. We were both attending a convention put on by the United Federation of Planets that was held at Star Fleet's Kenya base."

Gaila's eyes narrowed. "Hmm…your story checks out. Ny said the same thing too. Well that's boring! I expected something much more…interesting."

"I didn't think it was boring." I finally chimed in. Both of them turned their focus to me. I regretted saying that in front of Gaila. Her eyes began to twinkle and I knew she was expecting details of the story that were much less exciting than what she was imagining.

"No. I found it to be a far from dull encounter as well Cadet Uhura." Spock said and put down his utensils.

He avoiding eye contact with me again. Why couldn't we just have a normal conversation? Gaila's mouth gaped as if she were about to say something, but nothing came out.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS AND FACULTY. THE CAFETERIA WILL BE CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE VACATE THE AREA AND RETURN TO YOUR DUTIES." An automated voice announced this over the PA system.

Spock stood up and grabbed his tray. "I must be leaving as I still have duties to attend to. Good day Cadet K'allos and Cadet Uhura."

"Oh wow thanks! It was nice chatting with you commander! Can't wait to see you in class." Gaila squealed while bouncing up and down in her seat.

If Vulcan's could show emotion, I assume his would be that of disappointment or dread for what was to come. Well that wasn't a very good note to leave on.

_**"Commander!"**_ I shouted in the now incredibly loud dining hall. He turned back around to look at me. **_"Live long and prosper"_** I said to him in Vulcan and performed the Vulcan salute.

**_"Peace and long life cadet."_** He responded in Vulcan as well and held up his salute. He gave a small nod and was off.

I couldn't help but smile at his formality.

"How are you guys so buddy-buddy already? You barely talked to each other at all!" Gaila grumbled and grabbed her tray. I had forgotten that she was adept at xenolinguistics as well.

"I don't know Gaila maybe I am just exceptionally lucky." I stood up and placed my tray in the nearest receptacle. "Now let's go get my PADD already."

"Fiiiine lets go. But you better tell me everything about you and the commander!" She grabbed my shoulders from behind and rattled me. Gaila was by far the most difficult girl that I had ever encountered. This was going to be a challenging 3 years.

-Spock-

I had never been so frustrated in my entire existence. After I returned to my living quarters I had to immediately start meditating to calm myself. Anger. Obstruction. Defeat. The emotions I was feeling were my own, not cadet Uhura's. During my entire breakfast experience with cadet K'allos and cadet Uhura I was not able to detect our bond. I was slightly nervous and unable to focus on her emotions while mine were in an illogical turmoil. My internal plight was most likely caused by the fact that I was unprepared to be plunged into this high stakes social interaction.

The moment I entered the cafeteria I was bombarded by cravings for sweet food by Cadet Uhura's bond. I was able to use the staff partitioned replicator and skip over the large student lines. As I was ravenous my tray was stacked 7 inches high with pancakes. To accompany it I ordered a 6 ounce pitcher of syrup. Once my meal was ready I navigated through the throngs of students to the staff tables. They were all occupied. This was unfortunate. I scanned the room to see if there were any available seats in the student section.

"H-hello Commander! What brings you to the..uhm cafeteria?"

I glanced down at the high pitched voice that had addressed me. It was an Orion cadet. I recognized her from the applications. Her personality profile was too unstable to be considered for the Kobayashi Maru program. The cadet sitting across from her was none other than cadet Uhura. The likelihood us both being in the cafeteria at the simultaneously was 23%. A slight panic arose from within me. I was not prepared for social interaction with cadet Uhura. However since the opportunity for our friendship to grow was given to me I might as well utilize it.

"Greetings Cadet Uhura and Cadet K'allos."

"Ny he knows my name." Cadet K'allos said loudly behind her palm.

"Yes I am aware of your name Cadet K'allos. It is a pleasure to meet you." I answered. The Orion girl seemed unaware that I could hear her. She quickly recovered and asked for me to join in their meal. Seeing as it was a logical choice to sit at the nearest table with available seating I agreed. The possibility of talking to cadet Uhura was an added incentive.

As I sat down I noticed that cadet Uhura and I were partaking in the same meal, although hers of course was significantly smaller portion. This was no doubt a result of our bond. Fascinating. Today she was not wearing makeup and her clothes were casual. Cadet Uhura's hair was pulled back into a pony tail which enhanced the angularity of her face. It was a pleasing to see her face so fully. I watched her intently as she pushed the flour based treat around on her plate and eventually place a slice in her mouth. A look of disdain spread across her visage. I noticed that she did not have syrup on her pancakes or with her, so I offered her some of mine.

"Here" I said while offering her my pitcher. A flare of confusion and delight welled up from the bond. It was a pleasant sensation. However that was the last pleasant sensation I had for the remainder of the meal. For the next 31 minutes I was subjected to cadet K'allos' touch and absurd barrage of questions. I had hoped that she would stop so I could speak with cadet Uhura, but she showed no indication of stopping. The foreign feeling of frustration began to ebb at me. This girl was trying my patience.

Finally her questions stopped and I found an opening to leave. Cadet Uhura had addressed me towards the end, but I could not remember what she had said. All I could think of was how to best escape from the situation without appearing to be rude. I left the cafeteria as quickly and efficiently as I could and was now recounting the events through meditation. Why was my focus so divided when I was in her presence? What had cadet Uhura said? My mind cleared and the frustration lifted.

"I didn't think it was boring."

That's what she said. Relief overcame me. That simple phrase had given me a sense of elation even though I had been too flustered to enjoy it at the time it was said. She thought that I was not boring. Our encounter at the convention was remembered as an eventful one. I released my meditation and went to sit at my desk. Although breakfast could be viewed as a social failure in regards to cadet Uhura, I was now aware of one thing. I was not uninteresting to her. Being viewed as a stimulating person was a likely precursor to friendship. However, my hypothesis was unfounded. To gather more data on the subject I would need to be around cadet Uhura for longer increments of time. It was necessary for me to assess different methods of creating more time for us to interact exclusively with one another. Meeting coincidentally was trying my nerves and I was growing weary of it. Constantly being unprepared around her was making it nearly impossible for me to focus on talking to her. I glanced at my pile of cadet applications. On accepting the job of designing the Kobayashi Maru it had been suggested to me that I find an assistant to help with the project. I previously had no use for such a position, but now there most certainly was.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been really busy these past few days... Here's a new chapter to make up for it!

Hope you all like it :)

-Spock-

For the next 3 days I confined myself to my quarters to complete my selection of beta testers for the Kobayashi Maru program. As my duties had been shirked during the days prior due to social obligations, it was necessary to put all my efforts into finishing the task. The work was menial and time consuming, but I found it to be a sufficient distraction from cadet Uhura. The large amounts of reading required to finish the task numbed the bond to a dull roar. However, I would find my mind drifting towards cadet Uhura during any of my unoccupied moments. Oftentimes my thoughts would wander due to the level of intense emotions sent over through our bond. Since she was in such close proximity it was difficult to dull the link. Thankfully most of the emotions I felt from her were positive. Every time a burst of happiness came from her I wondered what had caused it and how I could create such a reaction. I had never felt this way towards T'Pring. Although this was all fascinating, it disrupted my work. The selection process was completed 4 hours, 37 minutes and 12 seconds later than my original planned completion time. I reevaluated my beta testing group to my satisfaction and decided that it would be refreshing to go for a light run. It was nearly dusk, my preferred running time. I changed into my black regulation tank top and running pants and departed from the staff building.

The temperature outside was still quite warm due to the summer heat. It was quite enjoyable to run in a climate that was slightly closer to that of my home planet. While I was running though West campus I thought about the beta testers I had chosen for my project. The cadets were ideal for creating the perfect simulation, however I did regret not being able to choose a few of the more interesting candidates. Take for example cadet James Tiberius Kirk. He was a brilliant cadet whose father was the man I was basing the project on. However, his personality tests did not go over as well as they were projected to. He was prone to narcissism, risk taking and lacked subordination. Cadet Leonard McCoy was an interesting candidate as well. An experienced medical doctor would be an asset on a real ship as well as a simulation. His personality profile did not check out either though; the doctor was highly prone to confrontation and emotional outbursts. Even Cadet Uhura had to be ruled out due to her reported temper issues. However that did not stop her from being exemplary assistant material. I would need to think of an opportunity to ask her about the position as soon as possible. I stopped and took a break. I had run 16.2 miles. I was no longer on campus.

-Uhura-

Having my academy issued PADD has made these past few days pure bliss. I was able to see my class schedule, practice my linguistic skills and set up my email account. Since I hadn't checked it in over 4 days the inbox was flooded. Surprisingly, nearly all of the emails were from my family members. The majority of the messages were scornful and informed me that my decision to defy my father and join Star Fleet had dishonored the family name. I browsed through these quickly since they all began to sound repetitive. Blah blah, come home, blah blah, shame on you for disobeying your father, blah. They all said the same things save for three outlier emails. My grandmother from my mother's side of the family had sent me an encouraging note. She agreed with my decision to follow my dream and said that she wished that she had had the courage to defy her family when she was my age. I remembered my sweet old grandma reminiscing to me about her dreams of becoming an actress. Sadly those thoughts had been demolished by her mother. If memory serves she was told that her career would never take off and that would in turn tarnish the family name. Grandma was quite the beauty in her prime and could have made it to the top if she had the chance. It was bizarre that her mother would rather oppress her then run the risk of failure.

The next letter was from my sister Makena. She applauded me for my choices in life and informed me that she would be cheering me on from the sidelines. Makena had apologized for not coming to my aide during the confrontation between my father and I. She had been torn in two during the whole affair and was paralyzed. I believed her. Makena had always been a kind and gentle person who avoided conflict at all cost. I'm sure she was shocked by the whole situation. Her email ended with an apology that she could not get my brother to write to me. He had sided with my father. Figures, he was always a yes-man.

The last email was from my mother. It was short since I'm sure she couldn't write very easily with my father and his staff constantly hovering over her shoulder.

_Nyota, _

_How are you? I miss you. You are so strong. Don't believe what anyone else tells you. What you did was right. _

_-Mom_

I exited out of the message and let her words sink in. I was so happy that she was proud of me. My mother was my biggest hero. Now how on earth she ended up with someone like my father was beyond me. After my announcement, I had made it my personal mission to make sure that father's treatment towards her changes drastically or that she leaves him for good. Darn, that meant travelling back home during breaks if I could afford to. Before signing out of my PADD I decided to link it to my bank account as well, even though I knew it wouldn't be pretty. After uploading the account I checked into my balance.

_YOU HAVE 250,074 CREDITS IN YOUR ACCOUNT._

Excuse me? I was sure I would have fewer than 75 credits at the most. My fingers raced across the screen to see who had made the deposit. My grandmother and Makena had thoughtfully given me 5,000 credits each. The other 240,000 credits came directly from my father's savings account. I nearly bust a gut laughing. My mother had actually smuggled father's own personal stash into my account. If he ever found out about the unauthorized transfer he would be livid. Mother really was quite devious.

"Ny are we going to go to that bar or are you going to keep sitting there laughing at your PADD?" Gaila was yelling at me from the closet.

I had forgotten that she had invited me out again. How often did she need to socialize with strangers? Quickly… think of a way out of this.

"Uhm... Sorry Gaila but I need to… exercise! Yeah that's right. Cafeteria food isn't suiting me and I need to drop a few pounds before we have to wear those tight red uniforms all the time. So sorry, you'll just have to make do without me this time." I made an exaggerated pouty face at her.

She gently shut the closet doors and glared over her shoulder at me. "…Fine. Have fun exercising. See you tomorrow then!" She stormed out of the room and slammed the door on the way out.

What a baby. Oh well, she may be mad but at least I got out of it. Thankfully some exercise did sound pretty good. Maybe a light run? I pulled my hair up and put on some running shorts. It was already dark outside, the perfect time to run.

-Spock-

After running 16.2 miles off campus I decided to walk home. The academy looked rather serene at night so it was a pleasurable experience. Thanks to the run my mind was completely free of any and all distractions. As I passed by the academy track field and knew that I was approximately 6.1 minutes away from my quarters. A lone figure was using the track. They completed one lap as I walked by and then spun 360 degrees before falling onto the turf. Were they ill? Should I continue on and return home? As an instructor it was my duty to care for the students. If this person was injured and I did not call for assistance I may get reprimanded. I glanced cross the field and could clearly see my building. What a shame that I should be impeded so close to my destination. As quickly as I could I walked to where the lone runner had fallen. They were sprawled on their back and had their face covered with their arms. Even with my Vulcan eyesight I could not discern who it was.

"Are you in need of assistance?" I asked.

The runner shot up and threw their arms off of their face and onto the ground. It was cadet Uhura. While I did not believe in fate, it did seem as if we encountered each other quite frequently.

"Commander! What are you doing here?" she stammered. My presence was as shocking for her as hers was for me.

"I was returning to my quarters after a light run. You collapsed and I responded by checking to see if you were in need of medical assistance." Quickly, I observed the area. Cadet K'allos was not present. I felt relieved. Now there was time for me to try and develop our friendship further.

Cadet Uhura's eyes narrowed and she lay back down upon the turf. "Thanks for your concern but I'm fine." Her right hand patted the ground to her right. "Well since you've completed your duties by checking on me, would you care to join me in my cool down?"

I felt a dose of playfulness emit from her.

"What recovery activities do you speak of?" I asked her.

Her eyes closed and she placed her arms behind her head to form a makeshift support. "Well if you don't join me you'll never know."

Due to her knowledge of alien species I assumed that she knew she was toying with my innate Vulcan curiosity. "I will be forced to partake in your activities then Cadet Uhura." I sat on the turf approximately four feet away from her to keep a sense of professionalism.

"Y'know if you don't lay down you're going to miss it." She said in a brash tone.

How she knew I was not lying down escaped me. I followed her orders and placed myself flat upon the ground. I could not recall the last time I had performed such an action. The sky above me was expansive and clear. The time was exactly 10 o'clock.

"You made it just in time commander." Cadet Uhura mumbled quietly.

I enjoyed her soft tone and feelings of enthusiasm that burst forth from the bond. At 10 o'clock most of the campus lights were extinguished. This made it the ideal time slot to view the night sky. Countless stars revealed themselves, as well as several planets. We sat in silence for 14 minutes marveling at the summer astral bodies. If I were fully bonded to cadet Uhura verbal communication would not be necessary. However a full bond was deemed out of the question by my mother. This meant that I needed to think of a topic of conversation that might help our friendship advance.

"Do you enjoy viewing the night sky Cadet Uhura?" I asked.

She laughed to herself for a moment before addressing me. "Why yes I just so happen to enjoy it. Do you like viewing the sky as well commander?"

"It would be illogical for me to dislike seeing some of the elements that make up the galaxy. However I do feel most at ease when observing the stars. I feel insignificant, yet whole." I answered her honestly.

"Well that wasn't quite as dry of a response as I was expecting. I agree with that feeling as well commander. But I also see so much potential when I look up there. The sky has no limits and is just waiting for me to explore it." She rolled onto her stomach. "Point out Vulcan to me."

My hand shot up to Vulcans exact coordinates. To my eyes the planet was nothing more than a red dot so I doubted that she could see it. Although I wanted to point out the illogical manner of her request I could not bring myself to.

"Well I sure can't see it, but I' sure it's beautiful."

I glanced over at her. She had her head in her hands and was smiling upwards at the sky. I contemplated how I could inspire such an expression in her. This sort of desperation was a new feeling to me. With the slight glow of the moon shining on her she looked so pure. I made sure to imprint the image into my mind.

"You sure stare a lot commander. Are all Vulcans like that or just you?" Cadet Uhura rolled 90 degrees onto her side to face me. I resisted the impulse to avert my eyes.

"My memories are best stored visually. If I do not record them accurately my retention may become faulty." I managed to keep my eyes focused on hers.

Cadet Uhura furrowed her eyebrows and laughed. The sound was pleasant, but I was unsure of its nature. Was she mocking me?

"Wow. That is just the kind of answer I expected from you." She smiled at me. "You know… you stared at me a lot on the day we first met too. It was pretty weird."

"I did not intend to unnerve you. I was merely observing you to the fullest extent of my abilities."

She tilted her head 30 degrees to the left in a sarcastic nature. "Mhmm. Okay whatever you say commander. All I know is that our encounter at the convention has made it so that all other alien life forms aren't nearly as interesting as you."

I pondered what she had said. What did she mean by this? "What other life forms have you encountered?"

"Well in college I was in a study group with a bunch of Deltans, my best friend was a Tellarite and I even dated a Betazoid, an Orion, a Catian and an Andorian. After meeting you I thought all aliens would be fascinating, but I was wrong…" She rolled onto her back again and sighed deeply. "…They were kind of boring. Even the Vulcans I met didn't compare."

I stared at her incredulously. Cadet Uhura had just informed me that I was the most interesting extraterrestrial being she knew. Also she had quite the relationship repertoire. I decided that it would be in my best interest to focus on the compliment.

"Oh don't stare at me like that commander! Y'know everybody had a crazy streak in college though." She paused and tilted her head 25 degrees to the left. "…I'm sure you did too?" Her tone hinted at skepticism.

"Negative. Vulcans are paired together and forced to bond to one another at a very young age." I replied.

Cadet Uhura was silent for a moment. "So you're bonded to someone? How old were you when it happened? What does that even mean?"

Hesitation polluted me. I did not wish to bring up this subject matter so soon. However I could feel expectancy radiating from cadet Uhura. As honesty was a desirable trait in friendship, it would be best to tell the truth. "In human terms the bond is likened to that of a betrothal. An arranged marriage if you will. I was 7 when my father forced me to bond to T'pring."

I did not enjoy talking about her to cadet Uhura. T'Pring was not my favored topic of conversation no matter whom I was talking to. I did not want T'Pring and I did not want to that bond to put a distance between myself and cadet Uhura.

"Wow. That's rough. You don't even have a say in it? Is she at least nice this, T'pring?"

I felt genuine feelings of interest arise from Cadet Uhura. "T'pring finds me detestable and rejects any form of contact with me. She finds my mixed bloodline to be inferior to hers as she is of Vulcan royalty."

Cadet Uhura sat up. "Seriously? She sounds like a total troll commander." Her eyes widened at the realization of what she had just said. "Oh man, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to talk about your fiancée like that. I was totally out of line."

Her sudden outburst of negative emotion towards T'pring was rather pleasing. If it were not for social conventions I might have been obligated to agree with her on her statement. "There is no offense where none is taken cadet. I feel indifferent towards T'pring. She is merely someone I am faintly connected to."

"Oh" She paused for 3 seconds. "I see. Good luck with that kind of predicament… Anyways… I looked at my schedule and I am in your Xenolignuisitcs 200 level class! That should be fun." She smiled gently at me and stood up.

I nodded. "Indeed. The class should prove to be most satisfactory to you."

"Well I should hope so! I'm looking forward to it." A small laugh escaped from her. "Anyways commander it's getting late. I better head back to my dorm."

I stood up to meet her eye level. "I must return to my quarters as well, I have a project to begin preparations for."

Hopefully my baiting would bring her to inquire about the project. I was well aware of her high levels of inquiry. Although it seemed deceitful, her involvement with the Kobayashi Maru program would benefit us both. Cadet Uhura appeared to be battling the urge to question me further on my project. After 16 seconds she gave in.

"What project would that be?"

"The project is classified to all uninvolved parties." I answered quickly.

She pursed her perfectly symmetrical lips in disdain. "Well how does one get involved in such a project?"

"I am in need of an assistant with your capabilities. If you would like I can assign you the duty. The assistant position is given all the details of the project and is paid for their time." This type of vague description should pique her interest.

She crossed her arms in contemplation. "Is the project interesting?"

"It is quite fascinating."

"Fine. I'll think about it and let you know after class on Monday commander."

"That would be satisfactory, I look forward to your reply."

Cadet Uhura nodded and bid me goodnight. As she left I could sense her feelings of confusion and pride. My proposal had apparently been unexpected, but she felt pride that I had asked her. By Monday I should know the results of this test of friendship.

-Uhura-

It seems like everywhere I go, he shows up too. I go to a club, there he is. Breakfast? There. Now even on a late night run he manages to find me. I couldn't decide if fate was causing us to run into each other, or if he was some kind of nice stalker, or just a strange cocktail of the two. I was back at my dorm and contemplating the talk I had with the commander on the turf. Gaila was gone so I was able to think in peace. I crawled under my comforter and enjoyed its darkness and warmth.

My mind kept flashing images of the commander hovering over me with almost a look of concern. He scared me at first since I wasn't expecting to run into anyone that I knew at that hour. Howeve,r his strange reason for approaching me was so genuine that I couldn't help but be intrigued. Since Gaila wasn't with me I had decided to invite the commander to join me in my traditional cool down viewing of the stars. Maybe some more exposure could help me figure out why we kept popping up in each other's lives.

After the stars came out we began some light conversation. I noticed that he was considerably less rigid than he had been at our last breakfast encounter. Maybe this had to do with the lack of hyper green girls constantly poking him. With the commander being less uptight, I found myself relaxing around him as well. Talking with him was more like how it had been at the convention. This I enjoyed immensely.

Everything seemed to be going much smoother this time around. He wasn't avoiding eye contact and had only stared awkwardly at me once. Maybe he was actually having fun chatting with me now. The conversation carried on until we hit a touchy subject, relationships. As always with the commander I confided in him more than I had ever told anybody about my personal life in college. His superior ranking didn't change my openness with him. The commander seemed shocked by the number of guys I had dated, but I guess it made sense after he told me about Vulcan relationships. Although I was nearly fluent in Vulcan, my knowledge of the culture left much to be desired. In college all they ever taught us was enough to get by diplomatically. Vulcans were very private with many aspects of their lives so I was lucky that he was sharing them with me.

At first I was fascinated by the whole bonding process; but as the commander began telling me more about this T'Pring girl the more exasperated I felt. The commander had escaped one injustice by his father, only to be subjected to another. Not being able to choose who you were bonded to seemed extremely unfair. The idea left a bad taste in my mouth. Besides the fact that it was unjust; did that mean that the commander had absolutely no experiences with women? She was still his fiancée and Vulcans seemed to be pretty uptight about their marriage practices, so I would assume that he didn't. I bet that he hadn't even experienced his first kiss yet. How surprisingly juvenile.

I chuckled to myself before realizing what I had just thought. My heart stopped beating for a couple seconds and my face flushed. Why was I thinking about stuff like that? I had better things to think about… like whether or not I would accept his assistant position. Three other professors had offered me assistant positions based on my recruit application form. Their projects all seemed equally interesting but something about the commander's mystery project just seemed so appealing…

I totally bet that he hasn't had his first kiss yet.

"UGH STOP THAT!"

I burst out of my comforter and shook my head in a futile attempt to rid myself of those thoughts. My legs flew off my bed and I began to run vigorously in place.

"He's going to be your professor Uhura! Don't think about silly stuff like that! You are here to work and learn. That is all." I said to myself while transitioning from running to doing pushups on the floor.

"…Ny? What the hell are you doing?"

I froze and looked for the source of the question. Of course it was Gaila and I had no idea how long she had been there. I stopped doing pushups and sat on the floor.

"It's uh, well past midnight Ny. Shouldn't you be sleeping by now?" She said in a scolding tone.

I scowled at her. "When did you get back Gaila?"

"Oh, I've been back long enough to see you run for a couple seconds before doing like, 85 pushups. That's how long I've been here." She grinned and slipped off her pumps. "Man I am pooped! Constantly getting drinks from guys can be exhausting."

"I bet. Well I'm glad you made it back home safely. Good night Gaila." I crawled into my bed faster than ever.

"Mhmm… Goodnight Ny." She replied drolly.

Surprisingly I had made it in the clear. Maybe she really was tired for once.

"So anyways Ny what professor were you talking about? Cuz there's only one I can think of."

Damn.

"I wasn't talking about anyone. Now goodnight Gaila." I rolled over to face away from her. She was silent. I was unsure if this was a good or bad sign.

"I am currently holding your coveted PADD. If you don't tell me who you were talking about I will spam everyone in your contact list with a virus that will constantly bring up images of Ferrengi pinup girls. Be it staff or student, no one will be safe!"

"…You wouldn't"

"I so would. Now tell me Ny!" She was getting a kick out of bullying me.

"Fine." I mumbled, "I was talking about Commander Spock. Happy?"

"You mean tall, dark and pointy? What about him?"

I stalled thinking of a white lie to tell her. "Uhm, well he offered me a pposition as his assistant. But I'm afraid that people will judge me because I knew him previously. I don't want people to think that I got the offer just because I know him."

Gaila was quiet for a moment. "Is that all Ny? Well that's boring, but certainly the kind of thing I expected to hear from you. Take the position you want and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

I heard her get into bed. "Ny, sometimes you are such a letdown. I expected juicy gossip."

I swallowed hard. "I guess you just pulled the short straw when they assigned roommates."

"Naw, I just pulled the slightly boring straw. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Gaila." I breathed a sigh of relief, with that tiny lie I had narrowly dodged an embarrassing bullet. Or perhaps dodging a photon torpedo would be more comparable in this situation.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi guys! Here's the next chapter! I am so glad that everyone is enjoying it so far. Heads up, this is a very Spock-centric chapter. Next one will be more Uhura-y :)

-Spock-

"God that was a long ass meeting! They keep getting longer and longer it seems, doesn't it Spock?"

How was it that I was always seated next to Professor Briggs during every pre-course meeting? He was insistent on talking to me after every meeting concluded. My responses to him were minimal, but still he pursued conversation.

"Spock can you believe that our break is almost gone? Tomorrow we start classes and I'll have to deal with all the smartass new recruits again." Briggs continued complaining and followed me all the way out of the staff building.

"Do not forget that you will also be assisting me in the Kobayashi Maru project."

He slapped himself on the forehead. "Damn that's right! With four classes and your project I'm going to be so busy… And my plan to get with Shoshana didn't even pan out so there's no girl in my life to comfort me. Don't get me wrong, your advice was solid. She's just… difficult."

"She did not respond positively to your affections?"

Briggs released a loud sigh. "No, the results were not positive. I confessed to her and she laughed it off. She thought it was a joke. I guess that I had waited too long to say something. Shoshana said that she can only see me as a friend. If only I had acted sooner!"

Fascinating. For once I actually needed to keep him talking.

"Do human women grow accustomed to keeping men in one particular role?"

Briggs gazed back at me with a blank expression. "God Spock you really are clueless! Haven't you ever heard of the ominous friend zone?" He wiggled his fingers to suggest mystery.

"No. Is it within close proximity of the Neutral Zone?"

Briggs burst out laughing. I could not see why as nothing humorous had been said.

"Spock, the Friend Zone is ten times more frightening then the Neutral Zone will ever be. There is no escape from the Friend Zone. It's everywhere. Once a girl has been around you long enough she'll put you into a category. If you're lucky, you'll be boyfriend material, if you're not you end up in the friend zone."

This confused me. "Is friendship not desirable?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. Being friends with a girl is completely fine. But if you ever want to take things to the next level and date a girl it will be nearly impossible if they don't see you as more than a friend."

"Women are complicated and appear to be highly illogical."

Briggs stopped walking. "You know Spock, if you didn't have that weird thing about people touching you I would give you a hug. That is the most human thing I have ever heard you say."

This was a most confounding day. Apparently being unable to comprehend the opposite sex was a highly relatable human trait.

"Anyways, I'm done with Shoshana. I'm just going to focus on my work." Briggs then leaned in 26 degrees closer to me. "Although I AM pretty interested in this girl that I requested to be my assistant. She's smart, capable and is quite the beauty. Since I had only looked at her recruit form I hadn't seen what she actually looked like until yesterday. Man what a piece of art she is."

"What cadet is this 'piece of art'?" I inquired.

"You've probably seen her around Spock! She's pretty hard to miss. Her name is Nyota Uhura. I'm pretty sure Professor Sato scouted her as well for her universal translator project. Man! How am I supposed to compete with that?"

I could not respond to Briggs. After he had said cadet Uhura's name my body became tense. An inexplicable rage spread throughout my body at the mere thought of someone noticing cadet Uhura in this manner. I suppressed the urge to kick Briggs' legs out from underneath him and crush his windpipe.

"Uhh earth to Spock? Are you still in there?" Briggs called out to me and grabbed my sleeve.

My violent intentions towards Briggs' evaporated once he had touched me. Horror overcame me as I realized how possessive of cadet Uhura I already was. The depth of my feelings towards her were much greater then I had thought.

"I have to go." I began running towards where my bond indicated cadet Uhura was.

I could hear Briggs call after me, but he did not matter. Right now I needed to convince cadet Uhura that she should accept my proposal and become my assistant. If she did not, I felt that my somewhat murderous jealousy may become too strong to handle. I would have to break the bond and that was something that I would like to avoid at all costs.

The bond kept pulling me towards cadet Uhura's current location. I had no plan to persuade her to join my cause. Briggs and Professor Hoshi Sato were my competition. Obviously Professor Sato, the distinguished communications officer, would be the cadet's first choice. The statistical likelihood of cadet Uhura choosing me over Professor Sato was less than 8%. My chances appeared slim. I stopped running and forced a silence on my bond to allow my mind time to formulate a plan. Only one persuasive tool appeared logical to me. Before I found cadet Uhura there was someone else I needed to speak to first.

-Uhura-

Studying in the academy library was absolutely fantastic. I had my very own glass noise proof cubicle to work in and had some of the world's largest databases of information at my disposal. It felt as If I had died and gone to heaven. Classes started tomorrow and I needed to keep myself prepared. Plus this solitude gave me a great opportunity to decide on whose assistant I was going to be for the semester. Aside from commander Spock, my other offers came from a professor named Briggs and the phenomenal Hoshi Sato. Although learning about particle synthesis seemed very interesting, I was really torn between the commander's project and Hoshi Sato's project. The commander's project was a tantalizing mystery that is so secret that it's not even listed on the academy website. Hoshi Sato's redevelopment of the universal translator on the other hand was a very large scale project that required many assistants throughout the course of the year. It would be amazing to pick her brain to see how she developed her linguacode translation matrix that revolutionized xenolinguistics. So far the commander's project seemed mildly disturbing compared to Sato's prestigious project. I could feel myself leaning further and further towards accepting the universal translator project. Sadly I think I'll have to let the commander down.

After 3 hours of studying in the library I decided that my brain couldn't hold any more information. I logged out of my PADD and spun round in my chair to face the cubicle's glass door.

"Oh my god!" I nearly had a heart attack. Standing at the entrance was commander Spock. He was staring at me intensely through the wall which did not help his stalker case. How long had he been there and how did he even know where I was? Slowly, I got up and exited the cubicle. The commander side stepped out of my way and nodded to me in greeting.

"I apologize if my presence has startled you cadet Uhura. I was passing through the library and happened to notice you were here. Upon seeing you I was reminded of the news I needed to inform you of."

His reason for approaching me was even stranger then when he had found me at the track. I dismissed his reasoning since it was too weird to think about any further.

"What news do you need to inform me of commander?"

"At a staff meeting this morning I was informed that you had been approached by Professor Sato to assist her in her universal translator project. We discussed who needed your help more. She decided that I did due to the sheer magnitude of what I am doing. However Professor Sato did inform me that you are welcome to be her assistant next semester and that she is willing to tutor you privately if you so desire it."

I was stunned. This was a lot of information to take in. Now being his assistant didn't seem to look all that bad.

"So you're saying that I can be your assistant for two quarters while having private tutoring sessions from Hoshi Sato? How is that even possible?"

Spock responded without sipping a beat. "I simply informed her of your merits and she appeared more than eager to assist you with your studies."

I stood there in silence for another couple of seconds. "Why would you do all this for me commander?"

"It is simply logical. I require your assistance in my project as you are the most suited cadet for the task." Suddenly his cheeks flushed green. "Also I see a great deal of potential in you."

I could feel my face flush a bright red. That was one of the best compliments I had ever received in my entire life. I couldn't believe that this exceptionally socially awkward Vulcan was making me blush.

"W-well, thank you for the recommendation." I said in an uncharacteristically sheepish voice.

"You are welcome. Will you accept my assistant request now or shall I wait until Monday for your reply?" He said in his same stoic voice.

I might end up regretting this decision, but there was absolutely no way to say no to him. Not after all the thoughtfulness he had shown me.

"No commander I will give you my reply here and now." I crossed my arms and glanced over at him with hooded eyes. If I didn't know any better I'd day that he was holding his breath waiting for my reply. "I will accept your proposal and become you assistant. Can I please know what the project is now?"

The commander's eyes were wide with some sort of unidentifiable emotion.

"It is fortunate that you have accepted my request."

I began to tap my foot on the floor in an excessively loud manner. He noticed and continued on.

"The project is hard to describe verbally. Would you like to see the prototype in the staff science labs?"

Hmm, was being alone with my almost stalker soon to be professor such a good idea?

"Sure. Let's go right now!"

Honestly the worst thing that could happen was him making me so uncomfortable that'd I would want to leave. After talking to him on the track though I felt that we had made leaps and bounds in our social interactions.

"Very well. Seeing as my day is currently unoccupied we may go now."

I flashed him a satisfied smile and he proceeded to lead the way to the staff labs.

-Spock-

I had accomplished the inconceivable task of recruiting cadet Uhura as my assistant. Now I was able to spend time with her outside of our coincidental meetings. In the near future I would need to reiterate my thanks to Professor Sato for allowing me to have cadet Uhura as my assistant. Strangely I would also need to give credit to Briggs who had informed me of the repercussions of inaction and the finality of this so called 'Friend Zone'.

"This way cadet Uhura." I motioned to the hall adjacent to us. We were at the staff labs and were 420 feet away from my prototype. Cadet Uhura was currently mesmerized by the exotic plants being grown by the biology department's genetic botany project. She looked up at me and pointed to one of the more elaborately colored flowers through the glass.

"It says on that plaque that this flower was genetically engineered and cared for by lead assistant Hikaru Sulu! Will you and I get cool signs on our project once we're done?" She smiled at me. I felt immensely content to be around her when she was feeling so pleasant.

"It is doubtful." I told her. Immediately her mood fell. Strange how a human's emotions can change so rapidly. "However I will inquire about such labeling closer to our completion date."

"Alright, let's keep going and see what all the fuss is about your mystery project."

She headed down the hallway slightly ahead of me. Before today I had never appreciated the short length of the female cadet uniforms. The dress fit cadet Uhura exceptionally well and visually lengthened her already long legs. I tried to estimate the sine equation that would best represent her hourglass figure, but she moved too frequently for me to formulate it. She stopped walking and pointed her right index finger to the room to our left.

"Here we are commander, 'Professor Spock: Room 308."

"Indeed." I responded slightly disappointed that I did not have more time to study her form before reaching my lab. "Computer open lab."

"Voice command accepted. Lab doors opening. Please watch your step."

I entered the lab prior to cadet Uhura due to the fact that the room was not lit and there was a dropped step before the entrance. Cadet Uhura folded her arms and appeared displeased.

"What's with the windowless scary pitch black room? Can't we turn the lights on before we clamber on in?"

"Negative. Due to the nature of this project and the usual traffic through this hall the lights must be shut off for security purposes."

She still looked skeptical. Although she had no logical reason to doubt my words, at some level I understood her fear.

"Here" I held out my hand to her. I felt pure shock emanate from her.

"Are you sure? I know Vulcans don't like to be touched. I can just deal with it sir, I don't want to offend you."

She was flabbergasted by my gesture and was frantically grasping at her ponytail. I found her confusion to be endearing. Thankfully further touching would not increase the depths of our bond since both parties needed to consent to that.

"Nonsense." I informed her and extended my hand 12% more.

Her hand reluctantly latched onto mine. She locked onto my eyes as she jumped down into the lab. The door closed behind her and we were enveloped in complete darkness. For 2.6 seconds I allowed myself time to enjoy the sensation of her hand gripping mine. It was cool and had a soothing effect on me. In the absolute darkness of the room her hand was the only reality I knew and I wished it could stay like that. However at this moment in time I knew that to be impossible.

"Computer, all lights and systems are to be rebooted and turned on."

"Command accepted. All systems are go Commander."

The lights flickered on and revealed all that I had accomplished so far on the Kobayashi Maru project.

"Oh my god. Commander. It looks like we are on the bridge of a Constitution class starship bridge. That's why the floor was so deep!" Cadet Uhura let go of my hand and began to pace about the mock bridge. Her hands ran over everything within range of her. "This is incredible. It's just like being on a starship!"

"Since that is this room's intended purpose I am glad for that observation."

She sat down in the communications officer's chair and began to fiddle with the system. "Wow. This is all fully functional equipment. What exactly is this all for?"

I sat down at the science officer's station and swiveled my chair to face hers. "This is going to be the academy's first litmus test for command line cadets. The project's codename is the Kobayashi Maru test."

"What exactly is it going to test?"

"The Kobayashi Maru will be a highly realistic scenario test that will be administered to all command track cadets. The test will be used to assess a cadet's discipline, character, and command capabilities when facing an impossible situation and there is no answer to the problem."

Cadet Uhura was silent for a moment. "So we are creating the ultimate no-win scenario?"

"Precisely. We are tasked with creating 400 of most difficult situations ever presented to these cadets. We are to expose them to fear in the face of certain death and teach them to remain in control of themselves and their ship despite that fear."

Cadet Uhura nodded slowly. "So basically we get to make the academy Boogeyman."

I paused to asses her statement. "…In a sense, yes. If you are uncomfortable with this you may still join professor Sato in the-"

"Hey, hold up commander! I didn't say anything about being uncomfortable." She flashed a grin at me and stood up. "We get to create something with nearly limitless possibilities, and we're helping people while we do it."

I was impressed by her response. She did not fear the responsibility and seemed rather excited to strike fear into the hearts of many. This reaffirmed my decision to not include her as a beta tester.

"So how realistic does this bridge get?" She asked while staring out of the main observation screen. Synthesized images of stars and cosmos flew by her.

"Well I will be having some of the more creative professors assist me with realistic visual simulations as my artistic skills are lacking."

She laughed at this. "Ha, I could tell commander! These galaxies are kind of flat!"

Sadly it had taken me weeks to prepare even this crude of an image. "We will also be doing extensive research on the scenarios we write to ensure their plausibility."

"Okay, and what about the environment on the bridge?"

"That is accounted for as well. Internal environment changes will be affected as well. Life support systems will reduce and so will the artificial gravity."

"We can lose our sense of gravity in here?"

"Yes. I recently installed the anti-gravitational fields on the bridge last week."

Cadet Uhura was now twirling her long ponytail around her right index finger. "Demonstrate."

"Demonstrate what?" I asked.

"The anti-gravitational field! I've always wondered what it's like to be weightless." She smiled again at me and I felt unable to deny her any request.

"As you wish cadet." I maneuvered towards the engineering station and slowly adjusted the field. Weightlessness struck immediately. I felt my feet lift off the floor and saw Cadet Uhura rise off the ground as well. She squealed in delight as she began to inch towards the ceiling. I reached down and activated my magnetic shoes as I had no desire to be stuck weightless in this lab until a janitor could assist us.

"Commander this is amazing! It feels so… I can't even describe it right. It feels like this is where I belong."

Her words perplexed me. "What are you inferring cadet?"

"This might sound ridiculous, especially to you, but…" She was now 6.2 feet off of the ground. "Woah!" Her arms flew out as she steadied herself in this unstable environment. "Phew. It's hard keeping your balance in zero gravity. I guess all those years of ballet lessons didn't pay off at all."

Cadet Uhura's train of thought was all over the place. I returned my gaze to the computer before me and began recalibrating its operating system. After allotting the cadet 3 more minutes of uninterrupted zero gravity time, I cleared my throat to remind her of her unfinished thought.

"Oh! Sorry about that commander, I get sidetracked pretty easily." She laughed at her own misgivings. "Hey before I tell you what I was going to say, look up."

As I had been conditioned to, I followed her instructions without any further questions. Hovering above me was Cadet Uhura. She was upside down and her legs were folded under her in a manner similar to the traditional ways of the Japanese. She was staring into my eyes unflinchingly. Her face was only 2 inches away from mine. I became immobilized.

"I snuck up on you didn't I? I'm getting good at keeping my balance in zero gravity." She was silent for 3.4 seconds. "Y'know I feel like Spiderman hanging over you like this, although I guess the roles would be reversed."

She smiled at me and I could in no way respond.

In a hushed tone she continued to speak. "Anyways, what I was saying earlier was that this is where I belong. You may not believe me but I have always felt like an stranger visiting another country. Wherever I go, even in my own home, I feel like an alien. Being the outlier in a family of traditionalists made my childhood difficult… But being here in this simulated outer space, I feel like I'm home."

I knew exactly how she felt. As a child on Vulcan I had been ostracized due to my mixed birth. For my entire life I had experienced what it was like to be an alien on your own home planet. It was not until I joined Star Fleet that I felt what it was like to belong. Both Cadet Uhura and I had a complete understanding of one another.

"I understand."

I stood up and slowly began to power down the zero gravity field. My hand reluctantly offered itself to cadet Uhura. She grasped onto it for support as she began her descent.

"Thank you." She said after reaching the ground.

I glanced back at her; Cadet Uhura was stretching her arms above her head to relieve tension in the shoulders. Her uniform had ridden up slightly to reveal 14% more of her upper thigh. I did not know if it would be appropriate to inform her of this.

"…You are…most welcome." I replied.

Cadet Uhura looked down at her legs and began fidgeting. "Darn these uniforms! They're so short." She pulled her hem back to standard length.

I was relieved, although I was unsure if the Cadet had noticed the attire malfunction herself or if she had caught me staring.

"So what now commander?"

"I will continue calibrating these computers to my specifications. I would like for you to create 25 different no-win scenarios and present them to me during my break after Xenolinguisitcs 200."

She appeared to be confused by this statement. "Oh, alright. I will take my leave and begin planning these scenarios commander."

"That would be satisfactory cadet." I sat back down at the science station and began rebooting the system.

"Goodbye then commander. _Live long and prosper_."

Without looking back at her I performed the Ta'al and responded appropriately. After the exchange I heard the lab door open and close. I waited for 2.2 minutes before allowing myself to relax. I leaned over the science station and rested my head in my hands. Having cadet Uhura as my assistant may prove to be as dangerous as not having her.

Never before had I felt the want for human touch as I did just now. The need was so primal that it shocked me. Every time I had touched her hand I did not want to let go. I wanted to trace my index finger over every inch of cadet Uhura's hand to remember the sensation of it perfectly. Her touch was different than anything I had ever known and I wanted to know more. I wanted to memorize everything about her, right down to the structure of her cells. Another foreign concept that had disabled me was the overwhelming desire to kiss cadet Uhura when she was floating above me. Although I was not familiar with this 'Spiderman' character, I am sure that he would have felt the same way if he were in my situation. While I have never kissed someone, I was willing to try it as long as the receiver was cadet Uhura. I was already willing to try anything as long as it made her happy.

This bombardment of highly emotive thoughts continued for half an hour before I cold calm myself enough to think straight. I sat up in my chair and closed down my lab. I went to my living quarters and situated myself onto my bed, no covers. My mind drifted towards cadet Uhura and I began to wonder if this mindset was a distinctly human trait or if Vulcans experienced it as well. To my regret the wisest course of actions to receive answers to all of my questions was to call my mother in the morning. Maybe she could also enlighten me on this so called friend zone.

I laid in bed for 4 more hours until sleep finally ebbed onto me. Thoughts of her never left my mind.


	10. Chapter 10

Ugh school has started in full swing so updates might take even longer! I apolgize in advance! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I tried to do Chekov's accent. And by try I mean attempted poorly. lol :)

-Uhura-

"So Ny how are you liking your classes so far?"

"I'm loving it Gaila! I never knew how satisfying it would feel to learn how to break a man's thumb!"

Gaila and I were on our way to our second of three daily classes. We were sporting our red cadet uniforms and had our hair neatly pulled back. I loved looking this official. After completing our early morning self-defense class it was time for us to momentarily go our separate ways.

"Man I don't wanna go to my next class." Gaila wailed loudly.

I strategically ignored her. "My next class is subspace communications! How cool is that?" I beamed at Gaila and she reciprocated with a foul grimace. "…Gaila, you're going to a coding class right?"

"Yup, a coding class level 100." She grumbled loudly. "Being in a level 100 class is ridiculous! If the placement tests had been administered by a less attractive man then I could've focused and aced the it."

"…You failed your placement test because the administrator was too handsome? That's just awful Gaila."

She elbowed me in the arm and shushed me. I glared back at her.

"Ow! Watch it Gaila or I'm going to fight back."

"Well just keep that story to yourself okay? I'm easily capable of being in the coding 300 level class so there is nothing to be ashamed of. I guess I'll just breeze on by this semester."

"Alright whatever. Have a good day and try to stay focused."

"I will okay! Stop badgering me!" She yelled and ran off towards her classroom.

I watched her shove through a crowd of cadets to get through the building's doors as quickly as possible. I sighed loudly and pretended I didn't know her as I headed towards my own class. How could someone so ditzy be so gifted?

As I took my seat in subspace communications I noticed a few familiar faces. A number of the cadets who had ridden the same shuttle craft as mine were in this class. I felt a little more comfortable knowing this.

"Well if it isn't miss just Uhura!"

Dear lord, who was behind me? I was afraid to turn around and look.

'Hey you can't ignore the great James Tiberius Kirk can you?...or can she Bones?"

"Well how the hell should I know? I'm a doctor not a mind reader!"

I knew it was that meat head. I whipped around in my chair to face the two of them. Kirk and Bones from the shuttle craft were standing in the doorway bickering like an old married couple.

"Hey! You two." I pointed at them as menacingly s I could. "This is a classroom. Sit down and zip it."

The two of them stopped fighting and looked at each other.

"Well Bones seeing as there are only two seats left, I will do you a favor and allow you to sit next to the brutally lovely cadet Uhura. I'm gonna go sit by Gary. He's nice."

McCoy's eyes looked like they were about to explode from his head. He slowly followed after Kirk and took a seat next to mine. Very quietly I might add.

"Sorry about all the racket Uhura. Ever since we landed he's been dragging me around like this. I don't know where he gets all the energy." He sighed and began unpacking his materials.

"It's fine, you'll just need to learn to train him better." I saw a hint of a grin flit across McCoy's face. "So what are you guys even doing in this class? You're a doctor and I'm sure Kirk is going for command line."

McCoy sighed. "Jim had a little…altercation before the placement tests so I had to fix him up before we could go. We missed the communications portion of the test, which gave us each a zero in that department. So now we're a credit behind and this was the only class that fit our schedules. Joy."

That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. "So neither of you really wanted this class? It's not going to be easy you know."

"Yeah yeah, you're preaching to the choir. I don't know about Jim, but I'm definitely gonna need some help. You wouldn't mind lending me a hand every once in a while would you?"

Something about that crass southern way of speaking made it hard to turn him down. "Of course I can help you Leonard. If we work together you should pass this class no problem!"

"Well alright then missy! Let's get to this…?"

"Subspace communications class."

"Yeah that's it!" He shook my shoulder and began furiously copying down the notes that were already on the board.

Well this seems like it's going to be an interesting class. I'm sure I can get along with McCoy just fine, but that idiot Kirk was a different matter entirely.

The rest of the class went by far too quickly. The subject was so interesting that I couldn't get enough of it. I just wanted to get the preliminary work done so we could start doing labs. As I packed up my PADD I glanced over at McCoy. He had a dead look in his eye that indicated that he did not feel the same way about the class as I did.

"Leonard? Are you going to be okay?" I leaned over closer to him. His deadpan expression never changed.

"I'm doomed Uhura. I didn't catch a lick of that."

"Oh you'll be just fine! I can help you out-"

"Heeeeey! Bones, Uhura wanna catch some lunch now? I'm starving."

Of course it was Kirk. I glared maliciously at him. He had to interrupt me for a lunch invitation?

"That actually sounds pretty damn good right now Jim. You're welcome to join us Uhura. Also I'm sure that I'm going to need some tutoring. I feel about as helpless as a kitten stuck up in a damn tree."

"Alright, I can tutor you. Just tell me whatever time is good for you." I answered.

Kirk slammed his hands on the table. "Guys are we gonna get lunch or not?! This is a serious issue here!"

Every fiber of my being wanted to punch him in the face. However I was pretty hungry and Gaila's class was an hour longer than mine. Hmm, eat alone or eat with McCoy and Kirk?

"Fine, let's go eat." I said obstinately.

McCoy stood up to go to the cafeteria and walked a few steps before doing a double take back at me.

"Wait hold on, you're actually going to eat lunch with us?" McCoy asked loudly.

"Surprisingly, I am."

-Spock-

The time was 5 am exactly. I had 3 hours until my first class of the day. After performing my morning routine and ingesting a light breakfast of fresh fruits I decided that I had enough time to call my mother. I sat down on my couch and proceed to call her on my PADD for a holovid discussion. After 2 rings she answered my call.

"Spock? Why are you calling me at this absurd hour?" Her holovid face grimaced at me with perfect detail.

"Mother as you know it is 6 am on earth, on Vulcan it is 4 pm."

She puffed up her cheeks and waved her right hand in front of her face. "Goodness Spock at least try to humor me a little. You and your father both require so little sleep that it can be rather unnerving… Anyways what did you want to talk about sweetheart?"

I never understood her pet names for my father and I. I was not a vascular organ constructed out of confectionary items and my father was not an earth mammal with antlers.

"Mother, I would like to inform you that I have successfully secured continuous private time with cadet Uhura and myself. I have requested her services as my assistant and she has accepted."

My mother's face stretched into a wide smile. "Oh my Spock that is good news! I knew you could become friends with her if you put a little effort in. I'm glad to hear that."

"I am pleased as well. Now may I ask you a more personal question mother?"

Her eyes narrowed and I could feel that she was on the verge of teasing me. "Oho! What could I possibly help you out with now Spock?"

I resisted the urge to hang up. "When you and father were in the courtship phase did he ever feel his emotions becoming unmanageable, or his desire for physical contact increase?"

My mother pondered the question for a moment. "You know I don't think any of that happened to your father while he was dating me. Heck I didn't even know he liked me until we were bonded and by then it was too late."

I raised an eyebrow at my mother.

"Oh come on Spock that was a joke. I was taken with your father the moment I walked into the Vulcan embassy. He was always so cool and collected. Sarek knew exactly what to say to win me over. Now I'm going to take a guess and say that things haven't been as smooth for you Spock. I can call you a lot of things sweetheart but cool would not be one of them."

"Yes I do find myself to be rather flustered around cadet Uhura. Almost to the point of paralysis. The symptoms worsen due to close proximity or actual physical contact."

My mother sat up and came so close to her PADD screen that she became nothing more than an enlarged eye. "Oh wow, you've touched her even more? Your father never once touched me before our bonding."

"Yes, I have held her hand. Twice. And when her face was close to mine I felt the strong urge to…"

The word would not leave my mouth.

"You want to kiss her? Big whoop Spock!" my mother was now back in her regular seating position. She rolled her eyes. "Everyone wants to kiss a beautiful girl like her, not just you."

"I have noticed others taking an interest in her and I feel excessively violent towards them."

"Well that's perfectly normal. Vulcans are very territorial. You should have seen your father when someone tried to sit next to me at last Tuesday's diplomatic banquet." She flappd her right hand at me. "Anyways Spock, that type of behavior usually doesn't happen to couples who aren't fully bonded. The only explanation I have for your 'STRANGE' behavior Spock is that your human side is more in control of you then you thought, or…"

"Or what?"

"OR, this unusual bond you have with her may be affecting you more than you'd like it to. I suggest meditating more to try and keep that in check. Have you told her about the bond yet?"

I was silent for 3 full seconds. 'No, I have yet to inform her of the bond. I wish to inform her of it once I have built a stronger friendship with her."

"Well okay, just be careful Spock. You're treading on thin ice. But I am proud of you and I think you are going in the right direction of becoming better friends with her. Do you have any more questions for me before I go? Your father and I have an embassy lunch to attend."

"Thank you for your assistance mother. I have but one more question. Have you ever heard of a district entitled the 'Friend Zone'?"

-Uhura-

Lunch was interesting to say the least. I was seated in the cafeteria at a large cadet table with Kirk, McCoy, two other male cadets and a blonde girl.

"Everyone meet Uhura! Uhura meet everyone." Kirk announced as the three of us sat down.

The blonde girl was the first to speak up when I arrived.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Christine Chapel. I have a number of classes with Leonard. We're both aspiring medical officers." She smiled at me and invited me to scoot over next to her. She seemed like a warm, gentle person. It was great to meet another woman who was so genuinely dedicated to their craft, as opposed to Gaila who really couldn't care less.

"I am Pavel Chekov. Eet iz Nice to meet you m'am." The younger boy held out his hand to me and shook mine firmly. He seemed extremely young to be in the academy.

Now the other guy reached over the table and shook my hand as well. "My name is Hikaru Sulu, welcome to our menagerie of a lunch table. Chekov and I take strategy classes together and we met Kirk and McCoy in a umm…"

"A goddamn bar fight...OUTSIDE of the bar of all things. Jim got caught making out with some gang member's floozy girlfriend. Chekov and Sulu here were nice enough to help Jim out in his time of need." McCoy quipped in.

"Yeah Bones about that night… Why the hell weren't you the one backing me up?!" Kirk yelled flabbergasted.

"I'm a doctor not a street fighter Jim! Give it a rest will ya?"

I watched the two of them quarrel for a moment before turning my attention back to the other three cadets.

"So Sulu! I saw your plant in the staff labs! That was beautiful." I told him.

He replied happily "Oh you saw Gertrude? Nice! Glad you like her. She was my first attempt at genetic engineering for my assistant project."

"That's so cool! What exactly are you doing for your project?" I asked.

"The botany department's head is developing plant life able to sustain itself in space. They're hoping to modify certain species to make them last for some of the five year missions."

"Wow. That's amazing! Are you two doing assisting with any projects as well?" I pointed at Christine and Chekov.

"I'm just assisting with some of the medical lab work, but Chekov over here was recruited straight out of high school to work on a huge transporter redevelopment project. He's some kind of wonder kid!"

"You flatter me Christine. But eet iz really just program writing and math. I am honored that they asked me to do eet." He said proudly. "What about you Uhura? Any professor recruit you for zeir projects?"

"Yes actually. Commander Spock asked me to assist him with his project." I immediately regretted saying that. The commander hadn't sworn me to secrecy but I was sure I wasn't supposed to mention it.

The entire table, including Kirk and McCoy, went silent and stared at me.

"Professor Spock asked you to be his assistant? How lucky." Christine sighed.

"Yeah how'd you manage that? I heard he gets along with people like Kirk gets along with other women's boyfriends." McCoy huffed.

"Woah woah there Bones. Let's not make this about me." He smirked at me. "This is about Uhura. So how did good ol' uptight pants get a gorgeous girl like you to be his assistant."

"He just came up and asked me…" I omitted his rather stalker-ish way of approaching me about it. The commander did not seem to act in this manner with anyone other than me so I decided to keep the matter private. Plus he had been fairly hospitable in his lab so I felt a little more obligated to protect his image.

"Oh I see I see." Kirk mumbled sarcastically. "So what's this project all about? It must be pretty important. Everyone says that he never takes assistants. Right?"

"Yes that iz correct." Chekov replied seriously.

"Well the project is classified. I'm sorry but I'm not able to tell you guys much about it. I really shouldn't have even mentioned it. Once it's done you guys can see it though!" I shrugged my shoulders. Too bad, it is a really cool project. I wanted to tell them everything about it.

"Ohhh now I really see what this is about! I'm gonna take a guess…" Kirk put a hand over his face in concentration. "The commander is using you to…. Practice his infamous Vulcan hand techniques!" His hands shot out in front of my face so he could wave his fingers mysteriously.

The entire table groaned.

"Gross." I said and made a face of pure disgust at him and swatted his hand away.

"Now y'see Jim this is why many people don't like to sit with us."

We all finished eating and then headed our separate ways. My next class was Xenolinguistics. The class was in the same general area as the medical labs, so Christine decided to walk with me.

"I'm so jealous that you get to be the commander's assistant. What I wouldn't give!" Christine sighed listlessly.

"Uh yeah it's pretty okay. I haven't done much yet."

I could not understand his appeal to the cadets here. All I could picture when I thought of the commander was a slightly gawky Vulcan staring at me from beyond a glass wall. If I was Christine I would be more curious as to what the project was than jealous of working with the commander. Although her jealousy did give me a slight sense of pride. I hadn't realized that the commander was so choosy with his assistants.

"So what's he like?" She asked with a bright gleam in her eye.

"The commander is uh… Pretty standard Vulcan. Stoic. Doesn't say anything except for what's necessary."

Once again I left out his immense discomfort towards me. I should be getting an award for this act.

"I really like his bangs." She said as if she hadn't heard anything I had just said. "Oh and his shoulders. He came into the medical labs last semester and let us take x-rays of him to study his umm.. anatomy. We were all impressed to say the least. Vulcans have such nice proportions." She squealed like a school girl. "Oh and his ears! They're to die for."

I was shocked to say the least. Never in my wildest dreams could I even begin to think that the commander could inspire this kind of reaction in anybody. Especially in a girl like Christine who seemed so tidy and logical herself.

"What's your favorite feature of his Uhura?" She asked in a silly voice.

I wracked my brain for an answer. "Uhmm…oh..I don't really have an answer to that question Christine."

Christine cocked her head to the side in confusion. Was it unnatural for me to not be attracted to the commander in that way? Was I the weird one?

"Ny-o-taaaaa!" a familiar voice erupted from behind us.

I turned around fast enough to see that it was Gaila before she clamped onto me like some sort of baby monkey.

"Oh Ny, I've missed you all day. But now we have language class together! Yay!"

"Gaila let go of me! You're going to smother me!"

"Oh sorry. I was just so excited to see you. Who's this?" She slid off of me and began to inspect Christine.

I recomposed myself and introduced the two. "Gaila, Christine. Christine, Gaila."

Christine shied away from Gaila's intense gaze.

"It's very nice to meet you Gaila. But I had better be on my way. Don't want to be late for class you know." She waved at us and then strode quickly on to the Medical labs.

I turned to Gaila. "Way to scare her off Gaila."

For once though I was glad for Gaila's off putting nature. I honestly did not know how to answer Christine's question.

"Oh please. I just wanted to let her know that I'M your best friend. She best not be moving into my territory."

She linked arms with me and proceeded to lead us to class, whereupon we sat next to each other. Gaila bounced up and down in her seat and recounted to me her day so far. About halfway through her story the commander came into the class room and took his seat behind his desk. I felt some sort of odd invisible pull from him. I glanced over at him for a moment and as usual he was staring at me with his intense Vulcan eyes.

For some insane reason I now knew my answer to Christine's question.

-Spock-

As soon as I took my seat in the classroom, cadet Uhura's presence overcame me. Thanks to my meditation I was able to immediately silence all information coming to me through our bond. She was now the same to me as any other cadet. Now that I was under control I began to mentally take roll. As I went through the rows I knew that my eyes lingered on cadet Uhura twice as long as they had on the other cadets. My resolve was still not as strong as I would like it to be.

I stood up an addressed the class. "Good afternoon. Please locate the file I have sent you all containing the readings for this class. Find file 362.115 and open it."

The class began to rifle through their bags to take their PADDs out. Unsurprisingly cadet Uhura was already prepared. For the rest of the two hour class I lectured about the subtle differences in Vulcan and Romulan, how to enunciate Klingon to make the accent believable and various ways to evoke diplomacy through speech. The class ended and the cadets evacuated the classroom as if their lives depended on it. Cadet Uhura remained seated much to the chagrin of cadet K'allos who was violently insisting that she walk her to her next class.

"No Gaila I have to report my work to the commander. I will see you later okay?" Cadet Uhura told cadet K'allos this in a calm manner.

Cadet K'allos placed her hands on her hips in an imposing movement. "Fine. You owe me a dinner date tomorrow then!"

"Alright fine, but me staying after class is going to be a regular thing you know."

"Is it? Ugh. Okay. See you later." Cadet K'allos huffed loudly and then exited the classroom.

Now it was just cadet Uhura and I. She was still seated three rows back and I was at my desk. She looked at me expectantly and I met her gaze not knowing what to say. It was a stalemate; one of us had to make a move.

"…Commander would you like to see the scenarios I have written out?" she said after what felt like infinitely more time than it really had been.

"Affirmative." I walked up to her seat and held out my hand to accept her PAAD.

She snorted, "You can just sit down next to me and read it. That way we don't have to keep talking from halfway across the room."

I felt my heart stop pumping. Would sitting next to her be too difficult at this time? However it would be unnatural for me to refuse.

Cadet Uhura cleared her throat loudly "…Commander?"

My heart jump started at her call. I immediately sat down next to her and retrieved the PADD from her hand. We sat together in silence as I read through her 25 scenarios. Cadet Uhura waited patiently for 45 minutes. Thankfully I did not know how she was feeling so I could focus on her writing. They were all excellently written and were indeed no-win scenarios.

"So what do you think commander? I had to rack my brain to even come up with 25. It's actually surprisingly difficult to think of a situation with absolutely no possible way out."

"I have experienced the same problem. So far I have written 102 no-win situations and now I appear to be stuck. Your scenarios are excellent cadet Uhura. I see no reason to not use them in the Kobayashi Maru."

Cadet Uhura smiled broadly at me. "Thank you commander. I am glad to hear that."

Thanks to my extensive mediation I was able to respond quickly instead of being dazzled by her.

"You are most welcome."

Cadet Uhura leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling. It was beginning to become dark outside so no light was coming through the skylight.

"So now what are we going to do? We're both stuck and we can't really do anything else before the scripting is done right?"

"That is correct. However I believe I may have a solution to this."

"And what solution would that be?"

"The academy library is equipped with archives of every Star Fleet mission that has been recorded. We could search the database for all failed missions and modify them to ensure that they would indeed be hopeless."

Cadet Uhura slammed her fist into her open palm. "That would be perfect."

"Indeed. We can start searching through the archives at your earliest convenience."

Cadet Uhura nodded again and then proceeded to stand up. Her arms reached above her head to stretch out her shoulders and back muscles.

"Why don't we go right now?" she said and put her arms down.

"At this moment? It is already 5:53 and searching through just half of the archives will take a minimum of two hours. I do not wish to take up more of your free time."

"Please commander." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Do you really think that I have such poor planning skills? I have allotted four hours a day to be dedicated to you and this project. I will not allow myself to do anything half-heartedly, be it my classes or the Kobayashi Maru."

I was impressed by her preparation skills. "Very well. We shall depart for the library immediately."

After an 2 hours and 16 minutes, we had gone through 54% of the star fleet archives. All the failed missions we had found were recorded and transferred onto both Cadet Uhura's and my own PADD.

"Well that should help us crank out a good 100-something scenarios, right commander?" Cadet Uhura said this as she was boxed in between a large database computer and 43 personal report folders the library had provided us. She would be indistinguishable from the mounds of information if it were not for her high ponytail.

"Affirmative. I believe this information will assist us in our efforts." I replied as I began to return the files and books to the information receptacle.

There were quite a number of items to return which made the turn in become quite tedious. Cadet Uhura and I completed the task in 12 minutes, much more efficiently then I could have done on my own. As she placed the last book into the return slot her stomach emitted a loud gurgling noise. She slammed the slot shut and spun around to face me.

"Excuse me commander, it's just that I usually eat dinner about now and…"

She mumbled a string of excuses for her gastric system. Mother had told me that I should to be more aware of human needs to continue building my friendship. There was only one logical course of action.

"Would you like to eat? I know of a restaurant that serves sandwiches and other sustenance at this hour."

I had researched popular restaurants in the area after mother had warned me of situations such as this. Cadet Uhura's pupil's dilated and she appeared to be taken aback by my request.

"Uh sure.,, Why not! Sandwiches sound great commander. Lead the way." She held her arms out towards the library's doors.

I nodded and held the door open for her as we exited the building.

"Thank you commander." She said with a look that I hoped was approval.

We continued to our destination, the restaurant known as 'Red Dwarf', walking next to one another. Red Dwarf was a mere two blocks away from the academy's library. Partaking in a stroll with cadet Uhura was exceptionally relaxing. Neither of us spoke and I could make quick observations of her when she wasn't looking. I now knew that her ponytail swung a full 165 degrees with every two steps she took. Due to our height differences I had to slow my usual pace by 33%. I did not mind this for I wished to be next to her for as long as feasibly possible. Reaching our destination was almost disappointing. Cadet Uhura came to a full stop in front of the restaurant's entrance.

She stepped closer to their door and read their sign. "The Red Dwarf: A café for the hungry explorer." She looked to her left and graced me with her smile. "I'm starving! Let's go and 'explore' this place commander."

Once again I simply nodded and held the door open for her. As we entered the building I noticed that the restaurant had very few customers. It must be due to the time, as it was rather late. A waiter immediately seated us at a table near the front window.

"Well this is a neat place I must say… I've never been to a restaurant that uses all red décor."

I had made a similar note upon entering the place. "I have not as well. If the color offends you we may leave and go to a more suitable venue."

Cadet Uhura laughed and shook her head. "No, no it's fine. I like it quite a bit." She glanced around the restaurant once more. "Do you like the color red commander?"

This question harkened back to my interrogation by cadet K'allos. However this time I was inclined to answer in a more thorough manner.

"I find red to be a comfortable color. As Vulcan is a dessert planet I grew up surrounded by shades of red. Earth's greens and blues make for a stark contrast."

"I understand that! Growing up in Africa made San Francisco seem like some sort of water world."

I was amused by her comparison. I had nearly the same interpretation. Our menus arrived and we both began to search through their selection of items. As we decided, we continued to talk idly about any subject matter that cadet Uhura could think of. The conversations would range from the academy, to the project to completely unrelated topics as well. For the first time since my childhood I was enjoying speaking to someone for the sheer act of it.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked us after 15 minutes of choice making.

"Yes, just one more moment please." Cadet Uhura looked up at our waiter and then back at me. "Commander I hope even my asking this doesn't offend you, but would it be alright if I partook in meat at this meal?"

"I see no reason why I must bar you from it based on my own practices." I replied.

She let out a breath of relief. "Okay good because this meatball sub sounds A-M-A-Z-I-N-G."

Cadet Uhura handed the waiter her menu. I ordered a sandwich consisting of grilled Vulcan produce and did the same. 23 minutes later we were served. As per Vulcan customs I did not touch my food with my hands, instead I ate with the cutlery provided. Cadet Uhura did not do as such and proceeded to consume her engorged sub with her bare hands. In a span of 34 seconds her face was blotched with tomato sauce. She had only taken one bite. Her eyes met mine as she proceeded to take her second bite. She froze.

"Oh god. It's all over my face isn't it?"

I nodded.

"I am so sorry commander, this must be so weird! I guess I just got too comfortable around you. I'll fix my behavior immediately." She sounded flustered.

I held out a napkin to her. "I do not expect you to change your behavior in any way when you are in my presence cadet."

She took the napkin and began to wipe her face. If it were any other human eating with me I would have been mildly repulsed. But I was not with just any human. Throughout the course of the night I found my boundaries were slipping as well. I was receiving full emotions through the bond again. Cadet Uhura was feeling cautious, nervous and an unidentified warm feeling. The warm feeling was an emotion I had never encountered before, but I was glad that she was experiencing it in my presence. If it meant watching her eat ten more meatball subs, I would do so if it meant that this warm emotion would continue.


End file.
